TEDS 


BAILEY  MILLARD 


Book  No. 


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PHILADELPHIA 


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University  of  California  •  Berkeley 

THE  PETER  AND  ROSELL  HARVEY 
MEMORIAL  FUND 


THE  SEA  HAWK 


THE  SEA  HAWK 


By 
BAILEY  MILLARD 


f 


NEW  YORK 

WESSELS  &  BISSELL  CO. 
1910 


COPYRIGHT,  1910 
WESSELS  &  BISSELL  CO. 


Entered  at  Stationers'  Hall,  London 

(ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED) 

September 


CONTENTS 


PART    I 

CHAPTER  A  PURITAN  PIRATE                               PAGE 

I    THE  GIRL  OF  THE  "THETIS" 1 

II    ROMANCE  REVERSED 14 

III  LOVE  AND  ELECTRICITY 28 

IV  A  TALK  WITH  Miss  BRAISTED 45 

V    SOME  ODD  SHIPMATES 55 

VI    WHAT  HAPPENED  IN  THE  FOG 71 

VII    HAZEL  CONFRONTS  THE  CAPTAIN 78 

VIII    MRS.  THRALE  IN  A  NEW  SETTING 97 

IX    A  GLANCE  FORWARD 112 

X    THE  DIFFICULT  ISLANDS 124 

XI    WHAT  THE  DIVERS  BROUGHT  UP 132 

XII    A  RACE  ON  THE  BEACH 152 

XIII  How  THE  TREASURE  GREW 173 

PART    II 
ALARUMS  AND  EXCURISONS 

XIV  THE   HATCHET   MEN 187 

XV    THE  CAMP  OF  THE  PIRATES 202 

XVI    A  CLASH  AT  ARMS 210 

XVII    THE  PURPLE  BLOUSE 217 

XVIII     THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  CHASE 235 

XIX    THE  CHUBASCO 253 

XX    A  BRUSH  WITH  THE  JUNKS 260 

XXI     IN  THE  CLAWS  OF  THE  SEA  HAWK 271 

XXII    THE  LITTLE  HELL 282 

XXIII  THE  STRANDED  YACHT 292 

XXIV  THE  TAMING  OF  THE  SEA  HAWK 301 

XXV    AN  ELECTRICAL  SURPRISE 312 

XXVI     GOOD-BYE  TO  THE  YACHT 322 

XXVII     MRS.  THRALE  GOES  OUT  TO  SEA 338 

XXVIII    AMID  THE  ORANGE  GROVES..  347 


PART  I. 
A  PURITAN  PIRATE 


THE   SEA    HAWK 


CHAPTEE  I 

THE  GIBL  OF  THE 

BUOYS  were  bobbing  gently  in  the  outrunning 
tide ;  the  endless  straggle  of  shoredrif t  was  lazing 
down  the  creek;  round,  water-washed  cocoa  husks 
twinkled  and  darkled  in  the  stream,  like  the  heads 
of  so  many  swimmers ;  here  was  a  sea-worn  piece 
of  planking,  there  a  splintered  spar,  and,  floating 
amid  it  all,  was  a  cedar  canoe  in  which  a  barehead- 
ed young  man,  with  an  easy,  self-confident  look  in 
his  frank,  likeable  face,  steadily  and  neatly  plied 
the  paddle,  his  glinting  blue-gray  eyes  glancing 
sharply  from  right  to  left  to  mark  what  heartless 
tug  captain  might  be  aiming  to  run  him  down.  For 
at  times  there  were  many  towing  masters  speeding 
their  stout  boats  about  in  Oakland  Creek  and  the 
blue  San  Francisco  bay  beyond,  and  from  the  view- 
point of  a  man  in  a  fourteen-foot  canoe  they  were 
all  desperate  murderers. 

But  no  screw  now  beat  through  the  peaceful  tide 
near  the  lone  boatman,  and  he  had  that  part  of 

i 


2  THE    SEA    HAWK 

the  bay-arm  all  to  himself,  save  for  the  driftage 
and  the  bobbing  buoys. 

After  a  while  the  young  man  laid  down  his 
paddle,  folded  his  bare  arms  and  looked  forward 
with  a  steady  gaze  that  seemed  full  of  throbbing 
anticipation.  But  he  appeared  to  be  biding  his" 
time,  as  though  that  for  which  he  would  seek  was 
not  yet  to  unfold  itself  to  his  view.  Had  he  not 
been  so  tensely  preoccupied  it  would  have  been 
delicious  indolence,  this  drifting  bayward  with 
the  tide.  The  summer  sun  lay  red  and  low  in  the 
fog-murk  beyond  Yerba  Buena  Island,  but  over- 
head the  air  was  clear  and  wonderfully  soft. 
On  the  left  of  the  man  in  the  canoe  brooded 
the  darkly  mysterious  marshlands,  with  a  world 
of  waving  tules;  away  forward  swelled  the  tame 
and  sober  billows  of  the  bay;  to  the  right  were 
musty  wharves,  scraggy  lumber  piles  and  prosaic 
coal  yards;  behind  him  crooked  the  turbid  creek, 
yellow  with  harbor  ooze  and  flecked  with  the  trivial 
flotsam. 

Not  far  astern,  in  a  wider  stretch  of  water,  rose 
a  bristle  of  masts  past  which  he  had  just  paddled 
— half-dismantled  clipper  ships  of  the  old  Cape 
Horn  line,  stout  whalers,  with  beamy  hulls,  stubby 
sticks  and  heavily  obvious  davits — vessels  that  had 
always  made  a  strong  appeal  to  his  imagination; 
and,  strangely  mixed  with  these  Artie-goers,  were 
the  schooners  Honolulu,  Belle  of  Tahiti  and  others 
from  far  Southern  climes  that  had  made  him 
dream  of  palms  and  coral  isles.  Indeed,  there  had 


THE  GIRL  OF  THE  il  THETIS "          3 

been  hours  when,  after  the  irritating  fiasco  of  some 
late-at-night  electrical  experiment  in  his  little  lab- 
oratory (he  had  a  new  plan  for  wireless  trans- 
mission which  had  not  yet  worked  itself  out)  a 
placid,  nerve-soothing  morning's  paddle  among 
these  Southern  voyagers  had  made  Edwin  Tevis 
feel  that  he-  would  not  mind  casting  in  his  lot 
among  them.  But  always  he  had  returned  to  his 
batteries  and  commutators  with  that  determina- 
tion to  "win  out77  which  had  been  one  of  his  lead- 
ing characteristics  in  the  college  where  he  had 
mastered  the  awful  "math"  that  had  gained  for 
him  his  electrical  engineer's  diploma.  It  was  this 
same  determination  that  had  caused  him  to  accept, 
albeit  with  a  bite  of  the  lip,  a  house-wiring  and 
bell-hanging  position  in.  an  Oakland  shop ;  for  two 
years  out  of  college  had  amply  demonstrated  the 
dismaying  yet  impressive  fact  that  he  must  earn  a 
living,  even  by  humble  means,  until  such  time  as 
he  might  perfect  his  invention  or  pin  down  one  of 
those  yet  evasive  opportunities  to  build  a  great 
power-plant  or  a  trolley  line. 

Not  always  had  Tevis  been  obliged  to  consider 
ways  and  means.  He  could  well  remember  the 
time  when  his  father  owned  rich  quartz  mines  in 
Calaveras  County,  and  many  of  the  men  in  the 
freshman  class  had  stood  in  awe  of  the  only  son 
of  Ready-Money  Tevis,  who  for  years  was  one  of 
three  mining  men  who  had  sent  the  most  gold  to 
the  mint.  But  gold  had  brought  nothing  but  bane 
to  the  elder  Tevis.  He  had  always  been  a  light 


4  THE    SEA    HAWK 

tippler,  and  when  his  prosperity  was  at  its  highest 
he  became  a  heavy  one.  He  died  of  acute  alcohol- 
ism when  Edwin  was  in  his  junior  year,  after 
hopelessly  tangling  up  his  affairs.  Mrs.  Tevis  fol- 
lowed her  husband  to  the  grave  a  week  later.  So 
reduced  did  the  young  man's  finances  become  that 
he  had  barely  enough  money  left  to  see  him 
through  college,  which  accounted  for  the  taking  of 
the  electrical  course. 

Anyone  looking*  at  him  now  as  he  sat  in  his 
canoe,  gazing  eagerly  across  the  water,  would 
hardly  have  thought  those  bright,  steady  eyes  had 
seen  so  much  of  sorrow;  but  one  did  not  have  to 
be  a  close  observer  to  note  a  few  touches  of  white 
at  the  temples  of  the  bare  brown  head  that  made  a 
strange  contrast  with  his  strong,  youthful  face  and 
gave  depth  to  the  interest  which  even  strangers 
had  often  felt  in  him  at  first  sight.  Those  touches 
of  white  had  appeared  in  his  hair  in  that  week 
when  his  mother  was  killed  by  his  father 's  down- 
fall. 

After  floating  along  a  little  way  with  the  tide, 
the  young  man  picked  up  his  paddle  and  dipped 
gently  forward  under  the  bows  of  a  hulking  Brit- 
isher whose  red  water-line  showed  high  above  the 
surface.  He  heard  the  clank  of  hammers  upon 
rivet-heads  and  plates  where  the  vessel  was  being 
repaired  amidships.  Then  he  paddled  ever  so  slow- 
ly toward  a  trim  steam  yacht  the  lustrous  bulk  of 
which  now  appeared  ahead,  shining  above  the  dirty 
ooze  like  a  clean,  white  dove  in  a  cowyard.  Truly 


THE  GIEL  OF  THE  "THETIS"          5 

the  Thetis  was  as  neat  a  thing  as  one  might  wish 
to  see  upon  the  water — a  handy  boat  of  about  four 
hundred  tons,  fit  to  sail  anywhere. 

But  it  was  not  merely  for  the  sake  of  a  peep  at 
this  beautiful  boat  that  the  young  man  was  pad- 
dling toward  her  as  she  lay  there  in  the  red  eye  of 
the  setting  sun.  In  truth,  there  was  that  patrician 
air  about  her  which  had  irritated  him  somewhat 
when  he  had  first  clapped  eyes  upon  her  while 
drifting  down  the  creek  a  week  before.  But  he 
would  have  been  free  to  confess  that  two  minutes 
after  the  first  time  he  had  paddled  over  to  the 
Thetis  he  was  ready  to  accept  the  yacht  and  all 
aboard  her  on  their  own  terms. 

For  there  in  a  wicker  chair  under  the  after  awn- 
ing had  sat  a  dark-eyed,  adorable  girl*  with  jetty 
hair,  a  sweet  face,  tanned  by  the  sun  of  the  sea 
and  the  salt  winds,  and  with  a  rather  slight,  though 
exquisitely  moulded  form  that  was  distinctly 
maidenly  and  yet  of  a  truly  womanly  model. 

When  he  had  first  observed  her,  the  girl  of  the 
yacht  had  looked  up  from  a  book  in  her  lap  and 
glanced  at  him  with  a  little  start  of  surprise. 
Edwin  Tevis,  clean-cut,  stalwart  and  fresh-look- 
ing, in  his  crisp,  fastidious  shirt,  with  its  uprolled 
sleeves,  neat  collar  and  tie  and  his  belted  khaki 
trousers,  was  a  man  very  likely  to  claim  more  than 
a  passing  glimpse  from  any  woman,  young  or  old. 
His  sudden  appearance  within  biscuit-throw  of  the 
deck  had  surprised  from  her  a  definite  look  of 
approval.  For  an  instant  his  knowing  blue  eyes 


6  THE    SEA    HAWK 

met  hers  with  a  flash  of  frank  admiration,  and 
there  was  a  quickening  of  his  pulses,  as  if  they 
had  been  touched  by  a  certain  urge  of  the  blood, 
an  urge  that  was  well-nigh  irresistible,  and  yet 
must  be  denied,  though  it  prompted  him  to  pro- 
tract his  gaze  beyond  the  conventional  bounds. 
But  as  her  eyes  fell  before  his  and  as  she  quickly 
proceeded,  in  her  well-bred  way,  to  ignore  him  by 
returning  to  her  book,  there  was,  of  course,  no 
further  sign  between  them  save  this  vaguely  stir- 
ring one.  Tevis  had  paddled  slowly  on,  with  only 
now  and  then  a  quickly  stolen  glance  backward 
at  the  yacht  where  the  girl  still  sat  quietly  and 
coolly  in  her  wicker  chair  under  the  awning. 

This  divine  creature,  the  most  beautiful  girl  he 
had  ever  seen,  who  was  she?  He  must  see  her 
again,  he  must  know  her ! 

That  was  the  first  time.  On  the  second,  third 
and  fourth  times  when  he  had  paddled  softly  and 
reverently  past  the  Thetis,  always  in  the  evening 
when  his  shop-work  was  over,  he  had  seen  nothing 
of  the  young  woman  though  his  eye  had  been 
subtly  alert  for  her;  and  each  time  he  had  dis- 
tinctly felt  the  loss  of  her  trim,  neatly  modeled 
figure  out  of  the  pretty  marine  picture  made  by 
the  yacht  as  she  rode  at  anchor  on  the  placid  creek. 

So  closely  had  he  regarded  the  persons  on  deck 
in  his  various  paddlings  about  the  yacht  that  he 
had  come  to  know  some  of  them  by  sight,  particu- 
larly the  sprucely  dressed  captain  and  a  large  man 
with  a  red  face  and  a  trim,  pointed  beard,  who, 


THE  GIRL  OF  THE  "THETIS"          7 

from  the  cut  of  his  clothes,  and  more  particularly 
by  his  great  "haw-haw,"  which  could  be  heard 
for  a  quarter-mile  in  the  still  evening  air,  Tevis 
had  set  down  as  an  Englishman.  In  vain,  how- 
ever, had  he  looked  for  the  girl.  Perhaps  she  had 
been  only  a  visitor  on  the  yacht  and  he  might  never 
see  her  again.  Still,  he  could  not  help  looking  for 
her  every  evening  as  he  plied  his  paddle  up  and 
down  the  sleepy  creek. 

On  the  fourth  evening  he  had  given  her  up,  and 
had  come  to  the  dismaying  conclusion  that  he 
should  never  again  be  blest  by  the  sight  of  her ;  but 
this  glorious  fifth  time,  while  the  Thetis  lay  in  the 
ebbing  tide,  his  eye  caught  the  flutter  of  her  white 
skirt  under  the  awning  and  his  heart  was  glad. 

As  he  paddled  a  little  nearer,  circling  astern  of 
the  white  craft,  he  became  aware  of  a  curious 
change  in  the  driftage  that  was  going  out  with 
the  tide.  From  cocoa  husks,  dead  tules,  splinters 
and  planks  it  had  changed  to  green  and  yellow 
globes  that  dotted  all  the  waterscape.  Melons — 
hundreds  of  them !  They  had  probably  been  thrown 
overboard  from  an  up-river  schooner  whose*  con- 
signee had  jettisoned  the  cargo  rather  than  flood 
the  market  and  lower  the  prices. 

As  the  canoe  swung  slowly  astern  of  the  yacht, 
Tevis  saw  the  girl  looking  curiously  down  at  the 
melon  patch.  This  prodigal  strewing  of  fruit  upon 
the  waters  was  no  doubt  a  strange  sight  to  her.  A 
large,  hulking  sailor  in  white  pushed  off  in  the 
ship's  dingey,  and  was  picking  up  canteloupes  and 


8  THE    SEA    HAWK 

watermelons,  one  by  one,  and  disgustedly  throw- 
ing them  back  into  the  creek. 

"This  is  a  great  note!"  Tevis  heard  him  say. 
"They  ain't  no  good — all  got  holes  in  'em.  But 
they  're  f  resh-lookin '  enough.  It 's  mighty  strange. 
They  must  'a  chipped  'em  so  nobody  would  want 
'em,  the  muckers!  Ah,  here's  a  good  'un.  No, 
blamed  if  it  ain't  scuttled,  too." 

The  tide  and  his  slow,  unwilling  paddle  were 
moving  Tevis  away  now,  along  with  the  melons. 
He  gazed  over  the  stern  of  his  canoe  at  the  girl 
of  the  Thetis,  but  she  gave  him  no  more  than  a 
glance  or  two.  The  sun  blotted  itself  out  below 
the  island,  and  in  the  twilight  he  rowed  back,  pad- 
dling stoutly  now,  as  he  was  breasting  a  strong 
current. 

Had  he  been  able  to  look  into  her  eyes  just  then 
he  would  have  seen  a  gleam  of  admiration  in  them 
as  they  demurely  regarded  him  from  under  their 
soft  fringes.  For  the  girl  was  uncommonly  pleased 
by  the  sturdy  ease  with  which  he  flexed  his  bare 
brown  arms,  by  the  stout,  swinging  rhythm  of  his 
long,  masterful  sweeps  of  the  paddle  and  the  deli- 
cate, sure  feathering  of  it  that  sent  the  canoe  fly- 
ing straight  as  a  conical  bullet. 

He  was  a  little  reluctant  to  look  up,  as  he  did 
not  wish  to  seem  to  be  rudely  staring  at  her.  But 
when  he  had  passed  the  stern  of  the  Thetis,  ven- 
turing quite  close  this  time,  he  gazed  back.  There 
she  was,  blithe  and  winsome  as  ever,  chirping  a 
little  song  that  sounded  ever  so  sweet  upon  the 


THE  GIRL  OF  THE  "THETIS"          9 

evening  air.  So  rapt  was  he  in  the  contemplation 
of  her  pure  profile,  as  she  looked  townward  across 
the  water,  that  he  relaxed  his  stroke  and  paddled 
slowly  away  like  a  man  in  a  state  of  hypnosis  su- 
perinduced by  the  rare  vision  of  her. 

Of  a  sudden  there  was  a  slight  bump  at  his  bow 
and  a  booming  yell : 

"Hey,  there,  you  lubber!  What  d'ye  mean  by 
runnin'  me  down  this  way?  I'll  smash  that  canoe 
for  you,  that 's  what  I  will ! ' ' 

These  pleasant  words  were  immediately  fol- 
lowed by  a  smart  blow  upon  Tevis '  head  from  the 
flat  of  an  oar.  Whether  the  knock  was  intentional 
or  not  was  all  the  same  to  the  young  man's  quick 
blood.  Hotly  and  rather  dizzily,  he  reached  out, 
grasped  the  wet  oar-blade  and  almost  wrenched  it 
from  the  hand  that  had  wielded  it  against  him, 
recklessly  risking  the  upsetting  of  the  canoe.  There 
in  the  rocking  dingey  was  the  big  sailor  whose 
melon  salvage  had  been  so  disappointing.  He 
commanded  Tevis  to  let  go  the  oar,  giving  it  an- 
other tug,  as  he  did  so,  and  nearly  sending  them 
both  into  the  water.  Still  hot  and  dizzy  from  the 
blow,  Tevis  grimly  held  on,  with  a  vague  punitive 
notion  in  his  bedazed  head.  But  soon  the  man  in 
the  dingey  got  some  sort  of  sailor's  twist  to  bear, 
and  the  slippery  blade  would  have  run  through 
Tevis'  fingers,  but  that  he  ducked  his  head  and 
grasped  the  oar  well  forward  of  the  flat  end,  tug- 
ging desperately  and  bringing  the  two  boats  smart- 


10  THE    SEA    HAWK 

ly  together.  While  the  boatmen  struggled  the 
canoe  rocked  violently  and  once  almost  capsized. 

"You  won't  let  go,  eh?"  the  man  in  the  dingey 
bellowed,  fiercely;  and  before  Tevis  could  sense 
his  action  he  had  leaned  over  into  the  canoe,  and, 
with  a  lupine  lunge  of  his  head,  sunk  his  sharp 
fangs  into  the  young  man's  forearm,  bringing  the 
red  blood  out  with  a  spurt.  Tevis  loosed  the  teeth- 
hold  by  a  handy  blow  on  the  man's  jaw.  Then, 
quickly  looping  his  painter  into  a  ring  at  the  stern 
of  the  dingey,  he  sprang  lightly  aboard  it  and  with 
all  the  urge  of  his  young  spirit,  made  at  the  man, 
bent  upon  instant  revenge. 

After  a  little  tentative  give-and-take,  while  the 
two  boats  side-wiped  the  yacht,  Tevis  sprang  at 
his  man,  and  clamping  his  stout  fingers,  about  the 
loose-shirted  waist  of  him,  he  yanked  him  toward 
the  stern  of  the  dingey,  his  long  body  toppling 
neatly  across  the  thwarts,  threshing  in  the  stalwart 
young  fellow's  hard  grasp  and  finally  coming  down 
under  him  upon  the  clean  bottom  planks,  where 
he  lay  gasping  between  his  knees.  It  may  have 
been  that  he  sat  upon  his  fallen  foeman  rather 
rudely,  and  certainly  the  throat-hold  he  now  had 
upon  him  was  not  a  gentle  one;  but  if  the  man 
under  him  had  been  anything  but  the  great -sheep 
that  he  was  he  would  not  have  bleated  and  bawled 
as  he  did : 

"Help,  boys,  help !"  he  gurgled  throatily.  "He's 
chokin'  me.  He's  killin'  me!  He's  desperit,  he 
is!" 


THE  GIRL  OF  THE  "THETIS"        11 

A  wild  cry  rang  from  the  girl  of  the  Thetis : 

"Don't  hurt  him,  don't!"  she  called  to  Tevis 
imploringly,  her  face  as  white  as  the  skirt  she 
wore. 

"Oh,"  said  he,  looking  up  at  her  as  she  leaned 
over  the  rail,  and  speaking  as  calmly  and  reas- 
suringly as  he  could.  "I  don't  intend  to  injure 
him.  He  has  probably  learned  his  lesson  by  this 
time." 

As  he  said  this  he  let  go  the  prostrate  man's 
throat,  and,  rising,  stood  over  him  rather  unguard- 
edly. He  was  not  a  little  embarrassed  by  the  show 
of  hostility  that  had  been  necessary  on  his  part. 
To  have  come  to  fisticuffs  in  the  presence  of  this 
charming  young  creature  was  deplorable.  But,  as 
it  turned  out,  he  acted  upon  these  delicate  con- 
siderations rather  too  hastily,  for  his  prostrate 
foe  shared  none  of  them. 

"You  saw  how  it  was, ' '  Tevis  went  on,  gazing  up 
at  the  girl — "how  the  affair  began?" 

"Oh,  yes!"  said  she,  "I  saw  it  all,  and  he 
shouldn  't  have  been  so Look  out !  Look  out ! ' ' 

At  that  instant  he  felt  a  hard  grip  about  his 
ankles.  The  savage  man  had  seized  them  tightly, 
with  the  evident  intention  of  tripping  him  and 
throwing  him  overboard.  The  dingey  was  rolling 
wildly,  the  gunwales  scooping  water.  With  his 
legs  well  braced,  Tevis  leaned  over  and  tried  to 
grapple  the  man  in  turn,  but  only  in  a  defensive 
way.  He  could  have  struck  him  in  the  face  had 
he  cared  to,  and  thus  ended  his  foul  tackling,  but 


12  THE    SEA    HAWK 

he  still  felt  the  constraining  presence  of  the  girl. 
So  he  merely  gripped  the  fellow's  shoulders  while 
she  cried  out,  her  voice  now  sounding  a  little  far- 
ther away,  as  the  tide  carried  the  boat  astern  with 
the  canoe  in  tow: 

"Oh,  dear!  Oh,  dear!  Will  nobody  stop  this 
terrible  fight!  Sir  Charles!  Sir  Charles!  They'll 
kill  each  other.  Why  don't  you  men  forward  there 
do  something!" 

Tevis  had  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  "men  for- 
ward," whose  grins  fully  evidenced  their  hearty 
appreciation  of  the  fight. 

There  were  hurrying  feet  on  the  deck  and  the 
round  red  face  of  the  Britisher  whom  Tevis  had 
before  noted  on  the  yacht  glared  over  the  rail, 
through  a  glittering  monocle. 

"I  say,  my  men,  what's  all  the  row!"  cried  the 
Briton.  "  Here,  you  fellow,  break  away !  Let  our 
man  alone !  He's  a  peaceable  sailor.  I'll  have  you 
run  in. ' ' 

"Oh,  yes,  he's  peaceable,"  panted  Tevis,  with- 
out taking  his  wary  eyes  off  his  man.  He's " 

The  great  brute  pushed  heavily  to  one  side,  giv- 
ing the  boat  a  mighty  lurch,  which  threw  the  young 
man  over  the  gunwale  and  into  the  water,  while 
at  the  same  time  his  fierce  antagonist  let  go  his 
ankles,  with  a  shove  that  sent  him  down  like  a 
piece  of  pig  iron.  When  he  rose,  spluttering,  with 
a  quart  of  muddy  water  gurgling  inside  him,  he 
was  near  the  dingey.  He  threw  out  his  hand  to 
clutch  the  side ;  but  at  that  moment  down  came  the 


THE  GIRL  OF  THE  "THETIS"        13 

club-end  of  an  oar  upon  his  unguarded  head.  There 
was  a  great  buzzing  in  his  brain,  as  of  a  mighty 
machine,  a  gurgling  in  his  ear,  a  raspy  feeling  in 
throat  and  nostrils,  a  far-away  throb-throb-throb- 
bing, and  then  the  stark  emptiness  of  a  mind  inert! 


CHAPTEE  II 

KOMANCE  KEVEKSED 

"!T  was  a  bully  scrap,  that's  what  it  was,  but  a 
mighty  unfair  one.  That  Bill  Jenkins  is  the  most 
cowardly  cuss.  Steward,  he's  opening  his  eyes. 
He's  all  right!" 

' ' Yes,  he's  all  right." 

"Tevis  blinked  in  the  fierce  glow  of  an  incan- 
descent light  in  the  little  cabin.  It  seemed  as 
though  it  would  blind  him.  His  head  ached,  his 
lungs  were  sore,  but  there  was  a  quick  revival  of 
the  spirit,  so  that  presently  he  bobbed  his  head  up 
and,  though  all  abroad  at  first,  he  soon  took  in 
the  situation.  It  seemed  natural  enough  that  he 
should  find  himself  aboard  ship,  so  much  had  the 
Thetis  been  in  his  mind  of  late. 

" Where  is  he — where 's  that  fighting  fellow?" 
he  demanded. 

"Jenkins?"  said  the  sleek-faced  steward. 
"Don't  bother  about  him.  He's  vamoosed — dead 
scared  of  the  lock-up,  I  guess." 

"Am  I  on  the  yacht?" 

"You  are,  but  you  came  near  being  on  the  bot- 
tom of  the  creek  by  this  time.  How  does  your  head 
feel — pretty  rotten,  eh?  That  was  a  nasty  knock 

14 


EOMANCE  REVERSED  15 

he  gave  you  with  his  oar.  He's  the  foulest  fighter 
that  ever  went  to  sea — a  regular  stingaree,  don't 
you  think?" 

"I  certainly  think,"  said  Tevis  grimly;  "but  all 
the  same,  if  you'll  take  his  oars  and  clubs  and 
things  away  from  him,  I'll  go  ashore  with  the 
beast  and  give  him  the  soundest  walloping  he  ever 
had." 

"I  guess  you  ain't  afraid  of  him,"  said  the 
steward,  smiling,  "and  I'd  give  a  heap  to  see  the 
mill,  but  the  Captain  will  fix  him  all  right,  if  he 
catches  him — knocking  people  in  the  head  with 
oars — and  all  before  Miss  Braisted,  too.  He'll  get 
what's  comin'  to  him,  don't  worry  about  that." 

"That's  what  he  will,"  said  the  other  man,  "if 
they  catch  him." 

There  was  a  light  footfall  outside  the  cabin  door 
and  a  sweet  voice  asked  solicitously:  ' 

"How  is  he?"  It  was  the  voice  of  the  girl  of 
the  yacht. 

"He's  come  around,  miss.    He's  all  right  now." 

"Thank  you,  I'm  awfully  glad  to  hear  it,"  said 
the  girl  graciously.  i l  See  that  he  doesn't  want  for 
anything,  and  let  him  rest  all  he  will." 

She  went  away.  Soon  afterward  Tevis  thrust 
his  legs  out  of  the  bunk,  and  sat  up,  with  his  hands 
to  his  head. 

"Don't  worry  about  me,"  he  said  to  the  stew- 
ard. "I'm  going  ashore.  I've  bothered  you  folks 
enough.  It  wasn't  your  fault  that  that  fellow  was 
such  a  crazy-horse.  Where's  ray  canoe?" 


16  THE    SEA    HAWK 

1 '  She 's  tied  alongside.    She 's  all  right. ' ' 

The  steward  tried  to  induce  Tevis  to  stay  on 
board  until  morning,  but  he  was  all  for  getting 
ashore.  His  head  throbbed,  but  before  long  he 
felt  fit  to  take  care  of  himself,  though  somewhat 
dubious  as  to  his  clothes  which  were  wet  and  un- 
wearable. 

When,  about  eight  in  the  evening,  he  left  the 
steward's  cabin,  dry  and  clean,  in  an  odd  assort- 
ment of  old  toggery — a  pair  of  dark-blue  trousers, 
a  world  too  wide  and  with  a  broad  white  stripe 
running  down  the  leg,  and  a  frayed  smoking- jacket 
of  a  faded  wine  color,  strangely  patterned  and 
padded  and  also  grotesquely  loose,  he  was  con- 
ducted by  the  steward  toward  the  companion.  The 
way  was  along  a  passage  and  through  the  bril- 
liantly lighted,  wonderfully  carved  and  paneled 
saloon. 

"You  needn't  direct  me  any  further,  steward/' 
said  Tevis,  as  he  sighted  the  stairway  at  the  other 
end  of  the  saloon.  l '  Thank  you  very  much.  You  've 
been  awfully  good  to  me,  and  I  shall  never  forget 
it.  Good-bye!" 

"Good-bye,  sir!"  said  the  steward,  turning  back 
down  the  passage. 

With  his  bundle  of  soggy  clothing,  in  his  hand, 
Tevis  took  a  few  steps  forward  and,  hearing  a 
jingle  of  piano-strings,  paused,  awkwardly  con- 
scious of  his  strange  dress.  For  there  at  a  piano 
at  the  other  end  of  the  saloon,  with  her  back  to- 
ward him  and  close  to  the  companion,  which,  as 


EOMANCE  EEVERSED  17 

far  as  he  knew,  was  his  sole  means  of  escape,  was 
the  lustrous  girl  of  the  yacht  in  evening  dress. 
Near  her  on  a  divan  was  the  big,  red-faced,  Eng- 
lishman whom  she  had  called  "Sir  Charles"  on 
deck  and  who  had  remonstrated  with  Tevis  during 
the  battle  in  the  boats.  Sir  Charles  was  also  fault- 
lessly attired.  With  what  to  Tevis  was  intolerable 
solicitude  he  addressed  the  young  woman  as 
"Hazel,"  which  he  voted  at  once  as  an  undue 
familiarity.  He  had  never  known  a  girl  named 
Hazel.  It  was  a  neat  name  and  he  liked  it. 

As  he  stood  hesitating  the  girl  turned  and,  see- 
ing him  in  his  motley  garb,  burst  forth  in  a  light 
laugh  which  she  immediately  suppressed  with  her 
dainty  finger-tips,  while  her  liquid  brown  eyes, 
still  possessed  of  the  spirit  of  girlish  merriment, 
looked  at  him  from  across  the  saloon.  It  was  un- 
bearable to  him  that  his  odd  appearance  should 
seem  so  irresistibly  piquant  to  this  beautiful  vision 
of  young  womanhood  that  had  floated  so  seraphi- 
cally  in  and  out  of  his  dreams.  Her  laughter 
pricked  his  proud  spirit.  There  was  this,  though, 
about  her  laugh — it  made  her  seem  a  little  more 
like  the  girls  he  knew.  There  had  seemed  some- 
thing distinctly  divine  and  unapproachable  about 
her  before;  but  that  light,  tinkling  laugh  of  hers 
was  essentially  human.  It  gave  him  courage  to 
say,  with  a  slight  note  of  injury : 

"I  am  very  sorry  to  have  given  you  all  this 
trouble.  I  didn't  want  to  alarm  you  or  bother  you, 
but  the  fight  was  forced  upon  me,  as  you  saw 


18  THE    SEA    HAWK 

Thank  you  very  much,  indeed,  for  your  kindness. 
Thank  you  and  good-bye !" 

Her  face  changed  instantly  and  her  brown  eyes 
took  on  a  sober  tone. 

"I'm  awfully  sorry  it  happen ed,"  she  said,  with 
becoming  concern.  t  i  The  man  is  a  brute  and  ought 
to  be  in  jail.  He's  always  looking  for  trouble. 
I  don't  know  why  the  captain  has  kept  him  so  long. 
If  it's  any  satisfaction  to  you,  you  may  rest  as- 
sured that  his  term  of  service  on  this  yacht  is 
over."  This  with  the  air  of  one  in  whom  resided 
authority. 

There  were  a  few  commonplaces  and  a  casual 
remark  or  two  from  Sir  Charles.  Whenever  the 
girl  looked  at  Tevis  she  smiled  roguishly,  showing 
an  array  of  dazzling  teeth  in  one  of  which  there 
was  a  little  glint  of  gold.  But  to  Tevis  the  aris- 
tocratic, monocled  Sir  Charles  was  a  snow  man 
in  evening  dress.  The  Britain  addressed  none  of 
his  talk  to  him  and  only  once  or  twice  did  his  cold 
gray  eyes  look  his  way,  when  his  expressionless 
stare  seemed  calculated  to  make  a  snow  man  of 
Tevis  in  turn.  He  had  a  feeling  that  he  would  like 
to  crush  that  monocle.  But  what  was  even  less 
bearable — intolerant,  in  fact — was  the  ill-sup- 
pressed mirth  of  the  girl.  He  felt  his  face  burn 
as  he  said  " Good-bye"  again  and  left  the  saloon, 
glancing  back  as  he  did  so  into  the  mischievously 
laughing  eyes  that  had  caught  a  rearward  and 
newly  ridiculous  view  of  his  wine-colored  jacket 
and  all-too-ample  trousers.  But  beyond  her 


EOMANCE  REVERSED  19 

shoulder  Sir  Charles,  the  snow  man,  sat  as  rigid 
and  refrigerant  as  ever. 

When  he  reached  the  deck  the  free  air  gave  him 
a  wonderful  accession  of  spirits,  probably  aided  a 
little  by  the  temper  he  was  in  over  the  girPs  too 
keen  sense  of  humor.  He  was  told  by  the  first 
officer  that  the  Captain  had  wished  to  see  him 
before  he  left  the  yacht.  The  Captain  had  gone' 
ashore  to  meet  the  owner  and  Tevis  was  told  he 
had  better  stay  until  his  return,  which  would  be 
soon.  But  the  young  man  was  in  no  mood  to  wait. 
He  got  into  his  canoe  a  little  stiffly,  his  head-pang 
still  reminding  him  of  the  combat.  Just  as  he  was 
paddling  away  from  the  yacht  in  the  bright  moon- 
light, Sir  Charles  must  have  come  on  deck,  for  he 
heard  him  gruff  out : 

1  i  Gad,  what  an  extraordinary  affair ! ' ' 

Precisely  what  had  been  said  or  done  to  bring 
forth  this  cool  remark,  which  was  doubtless  in- 
tended for  Tevis'  ears,  could  not  be  guessed  by 
the  young  man,  but  it  made  him  set  his  teeth  de- 
fiantly. He  paddled  ashore  with  a  quick  stroke,  his 
wet  clothes  dripping  from  the  stern.  Over  the 
quiet  water  there  came  the  rumble  of  men's  voices 
from  the  yacht,  and  once  he  heard  the  heavy 
" Haw-haw"  of  the  baronet. 

Of  a  sudden  the  voices  ceased  as  the  men  went 
below.  A  few  minutes  later,  looking  back  in  the 
moonlight,  Tevis  saw  the  white  skirt  of  the  girl 
of  the  Thetis.  She  was  standing  on  the  upper 


20  THE    SEA    HAWK 

deck  and  clear  of  the  shadow  of  the  awning.  He 
wondered  if  her  eyes  were  following  him  ashore. 

When  he  reached  the  long,  empty  dock,  he  saw 
one  of  the  yacht 's  boats  lying  alongside  a  float  by 
the  steps,  with  two  of  the  crew  in  it. 

"There's  the  canoe  chap  now,"  he  heard  one 
sailor  say. 

"Yes,  that's  him,"  said  another. 

When  the  boy  at  the  dock  had  taken  charge  of 
his  canoe,  Tevis  climbed  the  steps  wearily.  A  man 
was  about  to  descend.  As  he  came  down  he  recog- 
nized him  in  the  moonlight  as  the  Captain  of  the 
Thetis,  whom  he  had  seen  several  times  aboard 
the  yacht  when  he  had  paddled  about  her,  eager 
for  a  glimpse  of  the  girl.  The  Captain  was  fol- 
lowed by  a  stoutish  gentleman  who  wore  a  white 
waistcoat  and  was  smoking  a  cigar.  An  arc  light 
that  flashed  from  the  pier  made  their  faces  plain 
to  him. 

"Good  evening,"  came  the  Captain's  greeting. 
"You're  the  man  who  was  in  the  fight,  aren't  you! 
How  do  you  feel  now?  Did  they  take  care  of  you 
aboard!  I  told  them  to." 

"Oh?  I'm  all  right,"  said  Tevis.  "How's  Jen- 
kins f  What  became  of  him  ? ' ' 

"He's  skipped  off  ashore,"  said  the  Captain 
significantly,  "and  I  guess  he'll  stay  there.  He'll 
never  do  any  more  fighting  aboard  or  about  the 
Thetis." 

He  went  back  up  the  steps  with  Tevis  to  where 
the  stout  gentleman  stood  on  the  wharf — a  smooth- 


KOMANCE  EEVEESED  21 

ly  groomed  elderly  man  whose  air  bespoke  an  easy 
command  of  affairs.  He  seemed  bland  enough 
when,  after  the  Captain's  explanation  of  Tevis,  he 
asked  with  friendly  concern : 

"Can  we  do  anything  for  you,  young  man!  I 
wasn't  aboard  when  it  happened,  but  Captain 
Durable  has  told  me  all  about  the  mix-up  in  the 
boat,  how  you  were  nearly  drowned,  and  the  part 
my  daughter  played  in  the  matter. ' ' 

His  daughter!  She  was  his  daughter!  Then 
he  was  a  man  to  be  respected.  There  was  no  room 
for  doubt  in  Tevis'  mind  that  he  was  face  to  face 
with  the  owner  of  the  Thetis. 

"It  was  certainly  not  your  fault,"  the  gentle- 
man went  on,  "and  you  were  very  harshly  treat- 
ed. The  fellow  should  have  been  arrested.  As 
he  was  one  of  our  crew  I  thought  we  owed 
you -" 

' '  Oh, ' '  said  Tevis,  bent  on  checking  any  benevo- 
lent scheme  he  might  be  evolving  on  his  account, 
"don't  bother  about  it.  It's  all  over  now,  and  I 
think  I  got  in  a  few  punches  that  Mr.  Jenkins  will 
remember. ' ' 

"You  look  as  though  you  could  give  a  good  ac- 
count of  yourself,"  said  Hazel's  father.  "But  by 
the  way,  Captain,  you  didn't  introduce  us." 

"My  name  is  Tevis,"  said  the  young  man, 
"Edwin  Tevis." 

"Tevis?  I  know  a  banker  back  East  named 
Tevis." 

"He's  probably  no  relation  of  mine,"  was  the 


22  THE    SEA    HAWK 

reply.  "My  family  haven't  had  much  to  do  with 
the  banks  of  late  years. " 

"May  be  they're  just  as  well  off,"  said  the  other 
sighing,  and  Tevis  fancied  he  understood  the  sig- 
nificance of  the  sigh.  A  look  into  the  face  of  this 
over-prosperous  possessor  of  yachts  and  other 
highly-esteemed  luxuries,  under  the  glowing  arc 
light,  seemed  to  reveal  to  him  a  spirit  dominated 
by  a  vague  misgiving,  though  it  was  well  supported 
by  the  dignity  of  dollars — a  dignity  which  the 
young  man  had  held  rather  cheap.  "My  name  is 
Braisted,"  he  went  on,  "and  this  is  Captain 
Dumble." 

The  Captain  bowed.  Tevis,  in  returning  the  sal- 
utation, trusted  that  the  shadows  were  subduing 
the  picturesqueness  of  his  oddly  matched  suit.  He 
was  uneasy  and  was  all  for  making  away  and 
getting  home;  but  he  felt  himself  held  by  their 
talk  and  lived  for  the  moment  in  their  polite  ex- 
pectancy. 

"Mr.  Braisted  is  the  owner,"  said  Captain 
Dumble  in  the  deferential  tone  of  a  man  who  is 
owned  along  with  a  boat.  "We're  from  New 
York." 

Tevis  had  guessed  as  much,  for  he  knew  that 
from  no  other  American  port  could  so  large  and 
luxurious  a  pleasure  craft  have  hailed. 

"You  have  voyaged  a  long  way,"  he  ventured, 
addressing  Braisted. 

"Yes."  Again  that  pitiful  sigh,  and  again  that 
look  of  misgiving — a  look  as  of  a  swift  lapse  into 


BOMANCE  EEVEESED  23 

some  past  terror.  Then  the  face  became  firm. 
"It  was  a  long  trip,  but  we  had  pleasant  weather 
all  the  way." 

And  yet  the  memory  of  it  was  certainly  not  an 
agreeable  one,  else  why  the  sigh  and  the  dark  look? 

Captain  Durable  changed  the  subject. 

"You  were  pretty  well  soaked,  Mr.  Tevis,  when 
you  were  rescued, "  he  remarked. 

Eescued!  Tevis  started  a  little.  To  be  sure! 
Some  one  aboard  the  yacht  had  saved  him  from 
drowning  in  the  creek,  and  here  he  was  ungrate- 
fully anxious  to  get  home,  without  having  made  a 
single  inquiry  about  the  man  who  had  saved  him. 

"Pardon  me,  gentlemen, "  he  said,  feeling  rather 
mean;  "but  I  have  forgotten  to  thank  whoever  it 
was  that  fished  me  out  of  the  creek." 

"Bless  me!"  said  the  Captain,  and  there  were 
odd  looks  on  both  their  faces.  "Don't  you  know? 
Didn't  the  men  tell  you?  I  guess  they  forget  to 
because  they  were  a  little  ashamed.  Instead  of 
lowering  a  boat  on  the  instant,  as  I  ordered,  they 
went  running  and  fumbling  about  with  life-buoys 
and  other  silly  things  that  couldn't  have  been  of 
any  earthly  use  to  you,  as  you  were  stunned  by  the 
blow  and  clean  under  water." 

"Yes;  but  who  was  it — who  did  it?"  asked 
Tevis  hastily.  ' 1 1  want  to  thank  and  reward  him. ' ' 

"It  was  Miss  Braisted,"  said  the  Captain 
simply. 

"Miss  Braisted?"  gasped  the  young  man,  star- 
ing at  him  unbelievingly. 


24  THE    SEA    HAWK 

"Yes,  sir,  my  daughter,"  said  the  stout  man, 
full  of  fatherly  pride.  "She's  a  wonderful  swim- 
mer. Of  course  it  was  a  risky  thing  for  her  to  do 
in  skirts,  but  she  didn't  have  to  swim  very  far. 
She  just  threw  off  her  jacket  and  shoes  and 
jumped  right  in." 

"But but "  stammered  Tevis,  utterly 

taken  aback. 

"Yes,"  said  the  Captain.  "She  didn't  lose  a 
minute,  but  just  leaped  from  the  rail,  and  struck 
out  for  the  place  where  you  had  gone  down.  She 
had  to  dive  to  get  hold  of  you — you  never  would 
have  risen  again — but  she  brought  you  up  all  right 
and  made  for  the  dingey,  where  Bill,  who  was 
pretty  badly  scared  by  the  outcome  of  the  affair, 
sat  like  a  stone  until  she  commanded  him  to  pull 
you  in.  She's  a  mighty  brave  girl,  is  Miss 
Braisted." 

"She  is  that!"  Tevis  fervently  affirmed,  "and  I 
must  see  her  and  thank  her.  She  is  a  heroine,  if 
ever  there  was  one.  But  how  did  she  do  it  1 " 

'  '  Oh,  she  simply  struck  out  and  did  it, ' '  said  the 
proud  father.  "She's  perfectly  at  home  in  the 
water. ' ' 

He  rattled  on  abput  some  of  his  daughter's 
swimming  exploits.  On  his  side  Tevis  said  little, 
but  he  felt  sufficiently  embarrassed,  for  through  it 
all  ran  the  thought,  what  manner  of  man  did  she 
consider  him  ?  He  had  not  thanked  her.  But,  after 
all,  she  must  have  seen  his  ignorance  of  the  part 
she  had  played.  How  stupidly  strange  it  was  that 


EOMANCE  REVERSED  25 

the  men  aboard  the  Thetis  had  taken  it  for  granted 
that  he  was  aware  of  the  one  vital  circumstance 
which,  next  to  being  saved,  most  concerned  him! 

* '  Excuse  me,  gentlemen, ' '  he  said  at  last.  * l  But 
I'm  going  home  to  take  these  masquerading  things 
off.  Then  if  it  isn't  too  late  to  see  Miss  Braisted, 
I'll  go  aboard,  with  your  permission,  and  give  her 
my  heartiest  thanks.  Meantime,  Mr.  Braisted," 
he  added,  grasping  the  full,  soft  hand  of  the  owner 
of  the  Thetis,  and  giving  it  a  wrench  that  made 
him  wince,  "  please  explain  my  unaccountable 
action  to  your  daughter.  Thank  her  for  me  now, 
and  I'll  do  so  in  person  when  I  am  presentable. ' ? 

He  left  them  and  hastened  to  his  room,  feeling 
at  every  step  of  the  way  a  cringing  sense  of  his 
seeming  ingratitude.  His  only  comforting  thought 
was  that  the  girl  must  have  seen  that  he  did  not 
know  she  was  his  rescuer.  But  what  a  situation 
for  a  stalwart  young  man,  himself  a  two-mile 
swimmer  if  not  a  perfect  amphibian !  It  was  re- 
versing all  romance.  Ah,  if  only  the  chance  had 
been  offered  him  to  save  her  life!  How  gladly 
would  he  have  dived  to  the  deepest  depths  of  the 
bay  or  of  the  ocean  itself!  But  all  this  is  not  to 
say  that  he  was  not  extremely  grateful  to  the  girl 
to  whom  he  owed  his  life.  She  was  a  very  courage- 
ous young  woman,  this  Hazel  Braisted.  He  re- 
peated the  name — Hazel  Braisted.  It  was  as  full 
of  poetry  for  him  as  the  sweetest  sonnet. 

The  air  of  his  room  seemed  intolerable  when  he 
entered  it  and  began  to  dress,  and  he  threw  up  all 


26  THE    SEA    HAWK 

the  windows.  He  had  such  a  febrile,  depressed 
feeling  that  he  sank  for  a  moment  upon  his  bed 
and  felt  the  grateful  ease  of  it.  It  was  hard  to 
pull  himself  together  to  rise  again.  Would  not  to- 
morrow do  for  his  errand  1  No ;  it  must  be  tonight. 
But  he  owned  this  much  to  himself :  For  no  other 
creature  on  earth  would  he  have  made  this  harsh 
call  upon  his  flagging  spirits — for  no  one  but  the 
adorable  girl  of  the  Thetis.  In  what  a  short  time 
had  she  gained  this  wonderful  hold  upon  him! 
And  she  had  saved  his  life!  Surely  that  was  a 
sort  of  bond  between  them.  Whatever  else  might 
happen,  she  could  never  forget  him. 

He  rose,  still  a  little  dazed,  and  began  to  dress. 
It  was  nearly  an  hour  later  that  he  reached  the 
dock,  stirred  up  the  sleepy  boatman  and  ordered 
out  his  canoe.  Looking  down  the  creek  as  he  was 
about  to  descend  the  stairs,  he  paused  of  a  sudden 
and  ran  his  hand  across  his  eyes.  Were  his  fever- 
ish state  and  his  excitement  blinding  him  ?  Where 
was  the  Thetis?  He  paddled  out  a  little  way  and 
looked  down  the  moonpath  over  the  unquiet 
water.  Was  she  really  gone  ?  The  cool  night  wind 
fanned  his  face  and  the  gug-gug-guggle  of  the  low 
waves  under  the  bow  mocked  the  emptiness  of  his 
vision. 

Yes,  the  yacht  had  run  out  on  the  ebb  tide, 
whether  to  sea  or  only  somewhere  down  the  bay  he 
could  not  tell.  Like  one  obsessed,  he  clutched  the 
paddle  and  made  the  canoe  fly  along  in  mighty 
bayward  sweeps.  Bounding  a  point,  he  saw  a  low 


KOMANCE  BEVERSED  27 

smoke  down  by  the  mole  at  the  mouth  of  the  creek, 
a  good  two  miles  away. 

He  turned  and  paddled  slowly  back  toward  the 
town.  His  lovely  girl  savior  was  gone,  unthanked, 
without  a  word,  without  a  sign  of  appreciation 
from  one  for  whom  she  had  risked  her  own  life. 
Well,  the  hour  would  come — maybe  on  the  morrow, 
if — insufferable  thought ! — she  were  not  out  upon 
the  open  sea  by  that  time,  and  the  muddy  Oakland 
Creek  and  the  incident  of  the  canoe  were  to  her  but 
passing  dreams.  But  no ;  she  had  saved  his  life — 
she  could  never  forget  him — of  that  much  he  felt 
assured. 


CHAPTER  III 

LOVE  AND  ELECTRICITY 

Out  of  the  low  smoke-drift  of  the  speeding  yacht 
a  luminous  idea  came  to  him:  He  would  hasten 
ashore  and  telephone  to  the  Marine  Exchange. 
There  he  could  learn  if  the  Thetis  were  leaving 
port.  It  took  almost  the  last  remnant  of  his  day's 
strength  to  do  this,  but  he  did  it.  From  the  nearest 
telephone  station  he  rang  up  the  Exchange.  Was 
the  steam  yacht  Thetis  of  New  York  going  to  sea 
that  night?  No.  To  what  anchorage  was  she  mov- 
ing, then?  The  clerk  did  not  know — probably 
somewhere  up  the  bay.  No  other  words,  but  they 
were  enough.  She  had  not  sailed. 

He  took  a  trolley  car  for  home  and  arriving 
there  at  last,  threw  himself  upon  his  bed.  The  room 
went  round  for  a  while,  but  in  an  hour  or  so  he 
,felt  easier,  and  sagged  down  into  a  heavy  sleep. 

In  the  morning,  so  potent  are  the  recuperative 
processes  of  youth  and  love,  he  was  up  early  and 
again  at  the  telephone.  Nobody  could  tell  him 
where  the  Thetis  was.  At  nine  o  'clock  he  called  up 
the  Exchange  once  more  and  was  rejoiced  to  learn 
that  the  yacht  was  at  anchor  off  Sausalito.  Good! 

28 


LOVE  AND  ELECTRICITY  29 

He  would  take  the  ferryboat  and  call  over  before 
noon.  It  was  a  strange,  but,  as  it  seemed  to  him, 
an  imperative  errand;  and  he  should  see  Hazel 
again.  Hazel !  How  much  acquainted  he  had  be- 
come with  that  name !  It  seemed  that  he  had  known 
it  and  its  owner  all  his  life. 

But  it  was  a  rush  day  in  the  shop  where  he 
worked.  Customers  came  thronging  in  and  the" 
telephone  kept  buzzing  forth  all  sorts  of  super- 
fluous orders.  He  was  the  head  electrician,  and 
that  he  sent  the  other  men  out  on  all  the  jobs  that 
offered  themselves  that  morning  may  readily  be 
understood.  If  his  employer  had  not  chosen  that 
time  of  all  others  to  absent  himself,  he  might  have 
gotten  away,  but  just  at  the  hour  when  he  surely 
counted  upon  his  coming,  he  called  him  up  by  tele- 
phone to  say  that  he  had  gone  to  San  Pablo  to 
'  *  figure "  on  a  contract  for  lighting  a  new  hotel, 
and  would  not  be  back  before  two.  While  Tevis 
had  him  on  the  wire  he  asked  to  be  let  off  for  a 
couple  of  hours.  He  did  not  care  to  impart  the 
nature  of  his  mission,  but  tried  to  impress  him 
with  its  urgency.  The  reply  from  his  employer  was 
that  he  would  like  very  much  to  oblige  him,  but 
that  this  was  an  emergency  day.  He  would  return 
at  two,  and  Tevis  could  be  off  all  the  afternoon  if 
necessary. 

Fuming  over  this  intolerable  situation,  Tevis 
cursed  a  little  under  his  breath,  slammed  the  re- 
ceiver upon  the  hook  and  glanced  indifferently 
toward  two  persons,  evidently  more  tiresome  cus- 


30  THE    SEA    HAWK 

tomers,  who  were  slowly  entering  the  shop,  closely 
scanning  everything  as  they  came  in. 

What  was  running  through  his  head  at  that  mo- 
ment while  he  was  full  of  the  fret  of  the  situation 
was  characteristic  of  his  temperament:  Why 
should  he  ever  have  become  a  mastered  man* — a 
man  who  was  told  to  come  or  to  stay  at  the  will  of 
another?  All  his  lifelong  yearning  to  be  free,  to 
be  master  of  his  own  times  and  seasons,  came  over 
him  in  an  influent  tide  that  recked  not  of  restraint. 
Ah,  if  his  invention  had  only  proved  successful I 
He  had  always  hated  the  shop-life  and  its  circum- 
scribed affairs,  and  now  it  irked  him  more  than 
ever. 

With  a  touch  of  scorn,  he  looked  sharply  at  the 
two  incoming  customers.  They  were  a  man  and 
a  woman.  The  man  was  a  grizzled,  sea-going  look 
ing  old  chap,  short  and  rather  slim,  with  a  fuzzy 
beard,  a  mild  blue  eye,  a  small  chin  and  a  flabby 
under-lip.  He  paused  and  leaned  against  the 
counter,  fingering  some  wire-coils  that  lay  upon  it. 

Tevis  looked  at  him  inquiringly  over  the  counter 
and,  with  the  tail  of  his  eye,  took  in  the  figure  of 
the  woman.  So  remarkable  was  this  creature  that 
he  found  himself  turning  to  look  at  her,  rather  than 
at  her  husband,  for  such  was  his  plain  relation  to 
her.  The  woman  was  tall — a  full  head  higher  than 
the  man.  She  had  a  cold,  hard,  compelling  eye,  as 
black  as  obsidian,  and  yet  of  a  wonderfully  pene- 
trating quality.  Her  thin,  dark  hair,  parted  in  the 
ancient  manner,  was  touched  by  the  first  frost,  but 


LOVE  AND  ELECTRICITY  31 

she  seemed  unaccountably  old  and  knowing — a 
woman  of  cosmic,  seeress-like  wisdom.  She  had  a 
sharp  face,  about  which  the  wrinkles  hung  like  the 
meshes  of  a  tattered  veil,  a  mouth  that  closed  with 
a  set  of  certitude,  and  a  nose  that  suggested  the 
Apache.  There  was  a  deep  vertical  line  in  her 
forehead  and  some  smaller  ones  on  each  side  of  it. 
She  looked  like  a  "  down-easter, ' '  probably  from 
one  of  the  coast  towns.  With  all  her  Puritan- 
seeming  severity  she  had  a  salt-sea  ruddiness 
about  her,  and  one  would  not  have  been  surprised 
to  note  a  trace  of  sea-weed  in  her  hair.  The  ma- 
rine sentiment  she  suggested  was  heightened  by  a 
wide,  wabbling  gait,  the  walk  of  sailor-folk  the 
world  over.  She  was  dressed  in  a  dark  blouse  and 
skirt,  the  blouse,  though  loose  fitting,  revealing 
the  boniness  of  her  long  waist  and  the  sharpness 
of  her  elbows.  On  her  head  was  a  little  sailor  hat 
that  gave  her  a  jauntiness  not  very  becoming  to 
her  years,  yet  well  in  keeping  with  her  marine  air 
and  make-up. 

"Well,  Jim,"  she  rasped  sharply  to  her  hesitat- 
ing husband,  "I'd  like  to  know  why  you  don't  tell 
the  young  man  what  you  come  for. ' ' 

The  little  man  played  with  the  wires  a  moment 
longer,  while  Tevis  looked  over  the  counter  ex- 
pectantly and  with  an  all-too-apparent  impatience, 
which  probably  had  a  repellant  effect  upon  the 
mild-mannered  man  who  stood  before  him.  At  any 
rate  when  the  mariner's  blinking  bat-eyes  glanced 
furtively  toward  the  young  electrician  and  met  his 


32  THE    SEA    HAWK 

full  and  forbidding  gaze,  they  turned  quickly  to- 
ward the  wires. 

"I  wanted—  '  he  began  and  then  stopped,  wav- 
ing one  hand  as  if  to  clutch  the  fugitive  words  out 
of  the  circumambient  air. 

"Merciful  me!"  cried  the  woman.  "I'd  like  to 
know ! ' '  She  bit  off  her  syllables  as  if  they  were 
so  many  pieces  of  sea  biscuit.  Then  she  looked  at 
Tevis  with  a  mixed  air  of  business  and  bravado. 
"Don't  mind  him,"  she  said — "he's  barnacled." 

"I  beg  pardon?"  asked  Tevis  interested  in  this 
odd  pair  in  spite  of  himself. 

' '  He 's  barnacled  and  a  little  down  by  the  head — 
can't  get  it  out  all  at  once;  but  it  will  come  in  a 
minute.  He  knows  what  he  wants. ' ' 

"Course  I  know  what  I  want,"  said  the  little 
man,  with  surprising  alacrity,  considering  his  first 
faltering.  "I  want  to  know  if  you've  got  all  the 
stuff  needed  for  submarine  lighting — wires  and 
water-tight  globes  that  give  a  lot  of  light  and  a 
man  to  run  the  outfit?" 

' "  That 's  right, ' '  said  the  woman,  ' '  a  man  to  run 
the  outfit — only  you  ought  to  have  asked  about  the 
man  first.  He  'd  tell  you  what  you  want  when  you 
get  hxja." 

"We  have  everything  in  the  way  of  illumin- 
ants,"  answered  Tevis,  rather  carelessly  and  ig- 
noring the  ancient  sea  bird's  remark,  for,  some- 
how, he  Sid  "not  care  to  deal  with  her,  and  rather 
resented  her  interpolations. 

But  she  was  not  to  be  ignored. 


LOVE  AND  ELECTRICITY  33 

"We  want  to  see  our  man  first/'  said  she,  "then 
we  can  talk  business.  There's  no  use  getting 
waterlogged  with  a  lot  of— 

' '  You  want  an  electrician  of  some  experience,  I 
suppose,"  said  Tevis  testily,  looking  at  the  man. 
"I  can  get  you  one,  no  doubt,  if  you  will  tell  me 
what  kind  of  a  plant  he  is  to  handle. ' ' 

'  l  Well,  I  'd  like  to  know ! ' '  clicked  out  the  woman. 
"Ain't  it  plain  enough?  Submarine,  he  said, 
didn  't  he  ? "  There  was  a  hint  of  contempt  for  his 
suggestions.  "That  means  under  water.  The 
lights  are  to  go  under  water." 

The  young  man  behind  the  counter  breathed  an 
impatient  sigh. 

"Yes;  but  how  far  under  water,  and  for  what 
kind  of  work?" 

The  man  and  woman  looked  at  each  other.  Evi- 
dently they  did  not  care  to  discuss  their  plans  witE 
anybody  but  the  electrician  whom  they  should 
engage. 

' '  Oh,  tell  him, ' '  said  the  woman,  and,  as  the  man 
remained  silent,  she  said  with  another  touch  of 
bravado,  * '  Wrecking.  Going  to  raise  a  bark  down 
to  the  islands.  That's  all  you  need  to  know.  Now 
how  about  the  man — the  electrician?  Is  this  the 
right  shop  to  get  one  at,  and  if  not,  where  is  it  ? " 

Tevis '  heart  was  beating  fast.  The  islands !  Did 
fate  send  this  man  and  woman  here  in  the  hour 
of  his  revolt,  and  to  what  purpose?  His  projective 
fancy  sketched  a  vague  picture  of  coral  reefs  and 
a  long,  low  point  of  land  from  which  waved  a  cocoa 


34:  THE    SEA    HAWK 

palm  with  green  fingers  beckoning  to  him  through 
the  gold-haze  of  the  tropics. 

"What's  the  pay?"  he  asked,  looking  rather 
sharply  at  the  old  sea  dog. 

"I  don't  know,"  was  the  reply.  "Perhaps  two 
hundred  a  month,  if  he's  an  expert.  Don't  you 
think  so,  Emily?" 

"When  do  you  start?"  Tevis  cut  in  before  the 
woman  could  reply 

"About  ten  days,"  he  said. 

"And  you  go  to  the  islands — what  islands!" 
asked  Tevis. 

"Look  here,  mister,"  said  the  woman  resent- 
fully, her  forehead  quickly  barred  with  sinister 
lines,  "we  asked  you  if  you  knew  of  a  man  for  this 
job.  We  didn't  say  he  was  for  us  or  when  or  how 
or  where.  We  don't  want  to  drop  anchor  till  we 
get  into  port." 

"That's  all  right,"  was  the  quick  reply,  "but 
how*  do  you  know  I  'm  not  your  man  ? ' ' 

"You?"  The  little  mariner  looked  at  him  like 
one  relieved.  "They  tell  me  you're  an  expert  in 
your  line, ' '  said  he.  ' '  Would  you  really  go  ? " 

* '  Yes ;  perhaps ;  if  I  knew  a  little  more  about  the 
enterprise.  Wait  a  minute.  There 's  the  'phone. " 

He  went  to  the  telephone  which  grated  into  his 
unwilling  ear  the  pleasant  information  that  if 
would  be  four  o'clock  before  his  employer  could 
return.  A  plague  on  shops !  Here  was  an  island 
adventure  and  fifty  dollars  a  month  more  than  his 


LOVE  AND  ELECTRICITY  35 

present  salary.  Hurrying  back  to  the  counter,  he 
said: 

"I'll  go,  if  it's  all  straight,  and  there's  a  full 
month's  pay  in  advance." 

"Why,"  said  the  old  salt,  "it's  straight  as  a 
tow  line,  and  I  guess  you  can  have  the  two  hundred 
down;  don't  you  think  so,  Emily?" 

"Yes,"  said  the  woman.  "Now  let's  get  down 
to  business.  You  know  this  is  to  be  all  confiden- 
tial." 

In  the  little  back  office,  where,  with  much  inward 
excitement,  Tevis  put  question  after  question,  it 
came  out  that  the  couple  were  Captain  and  Mrs. 
Thrale;  that  Captain  Thrale  was  the  owner  an3 
master  of  the  two-hundred  ton  schooner  Tropic 
Bird  of  the  island  trade;  that  the  wreck  he  was 
undertaking  to  exploit  lay  in  a  sheltered  cove  off 
Tutuila,  one  of  the  Samoan  group.  Then  they  en- 
tered into  the  details  of  the  electric  outfit,  though, 
as  the  captain  said,  he  was  "only  figuring  on  it" 
that  day;  he  wanted  to  get  "some  idea."  Mrs. 
Thrale  sat  a  little  apart,  satisfied  for  the  time  to 
leave  affairs  in  masculine  hands. 

If  Tevis  had  been  impatient  of  the  frequent 
dropping-in  of  customers  earlier  in  the  morning,  he 
was  still  more  impatient  now,  but  between  the  sell- 
ing of  spools  of  bell  wire,  dry-cell  batteries,  and 
induction  coils,  and  the  taking  of  orders  for  re- 
pairs, he  managed  to  give  the  captain  a  very  good 
idea  of  what  would  be  required  for  the  lighting 
outfit.  Thrale  had  a  little  piece  of  penciled  paper 


36  THE     SEA    HAWK 

which  he  consulted  from  time  to  time,  checking  off, 
scratching  out  or  adding  to  his  list. 

"How  about  that  new  kind  of  light,  Mr.  Tevis, 
the  powerful  one  that  comes  in  long  tubes,"  he 
asked. 

"Mercury  arcs?" 

"Yes;  I  guess  that's  it.  How'd  they  go?" 

* '  Oh,  you  don't  want  mercury  arcs  for  that  work, 
Captain,"  he  suggested.  "You  couldn't  carry 
them  around  very  well  under  water,  and  they're 
awfully  expensive." 

"But  we  need  a  good  strong  light — one  that  will 
make  deep  bottom  look  like  that  carpet  there,  and 
so  as  we  can  work  all  night  if  we  have  to.  But  of 
course,  it's  got  to  be  portable  and  handy  and  not 
get  out  of  order  too  easy ! ' ' 

'  '  Then  what  you  want  is  triple  glower  Nehrsts — 
hundred  candle-power  would  be  about  right. 
That  '11  give  you  a  light  you  can  pick  up  pins  by  at 
ten  fathoms  on  a  dark  night.  I  've  seen  them  tried 
in  the  bay. ' ' 

"And  the  water-tight  globes  and  sockets?" 

"No  trouble  about  them,  but  I've  got  to  do  a 
little  figuring  on  the  wiring.  Is  it  going  to  be  used 
in  rough  places — over  rocks  and  the  like  ? ' ' 

"I  guess  so,"  mused  the  Captain  with  a  far- 
away look  in  his  eyes.  "Oh,  it  will  be  rough 
enough." 

"Well,  you  know  the  covering  wears  off  under 
such  conditions,"  explained  the  electrician. 
"There's  an  extra  heavy  insulated  wire  they  make 


LOVE  AND  ELECTRICITY  37 

for  just  that  sort  of  work.  It  comes  in  thousand- 
foot  coils.  You  ought  to  take  along  about  three 
coils,  so  as  to  have  plenty." 

"Whatever  you  say,"  said  the  Captain.  "You're 
to  be  boss  of  the  lighting  outfit,  and  of  course  you 
know  we  don't  want  to  get  caught  out  of  material 
a  thousand  miles  from  nowhere." 

He  fingered  his  memorandum  sheets.  Just  then 
a  medical  customer  thrust  his  head  into  the  office 
and  asked  for  a  cauterizing  instrument  in  a  hurry. 
The  memorandum  slips  seemed  to  remind  the  Cap- 
tain of  something  important. 

"May  I  use  your  'phone?"  he  asked,  suddenly. 

"Certainly;  take  the  one  on  the  desk,"  said 
Tevis,  going  out  to  wait  on  his  customer. 

He  was  gone  but  a  few  minutes  from  the  back 
office,  during  which  he  saw  as  he  glanced  through 
the  glass  that  Captain  Thrale,  who  seemed  to  have 
no  great  acquaintance  with  the  telephone,  was 
having  some  difficulty  in  making  himself  under- 
stood by  the  person  at  the  other  end  of  the  wire, 
though  never  once  did  he  raise  his  voice.  As  Tevis 
re-entered  the  little  room,  the  Captain  was  speak- 
ing low  into  the  transmitter  and  repeating:  "Yes, 
to-morrow  night;  to-morrow  night;  same  hour; 
same  place." 

Mrs.  Thrale  gave  a  furtive  glance  as  the  young 
man  entered  and  reaching  over,  touched  her  hus- 
band's arm. 

"Good-bye,"  he  said  in  the  same  low  tone,  and 


38  THE    SEA    HAWK 

hung  up  the  receiver,  with  a  jerk,  turning  toward 
Tevis  with  an  uneasy  look. 

"Well,  Mr.  Tevis,"  said  he,  "if  you'll  come 
down  to  the  schooner  Thursday,  any  time  before 
noon,  I'll  be  glad  to  see  you  again  and  talk  things 
over.  And,  remember,  you  are  to  say  nothing 
about  this  cruise  of  ours." 

"Absolutely  nothing,"  was  the  ready  promise. 

They  passed  out,  Mrs.  Thrale  walking  ahead  in 
the  superior  manner  which  characterized  her  at- 
titude toward  the  Captain. 

A  few  minutes  later  Tevis  glanced  at  the  desk  in 
the  back  office.  On  the  blue  blotter  by  the  tele- 
phone lay  a  little  slip  of  paper.  On  it  was  scrawled 
in  pencil : 

"Captain  Dumble,  Clay  1006." 

Captain  Dumble,  of  the  Thetis! 

Tevis  recalled  the  words  he  had  heard  Thrale 
repeat  into  the  telephone:  "To-morrow  night; 
same  hour;  same  place." 

The  baffling  witchery  of  events!  All  day  long 
had  he  been  awaiting  a  chance  to  go  the  Thetis,  the 
vessel  of  enchantment,  the  floating  home  of  the  girl 
who  now  meant  more  to  him  than  any  living  crea- 
ture, and  here,  out  of  his  own  office,  had  gone  a 
message  to  her  captain. 

It  was  strange,  but  not  so  very  strange.  For, 
after  all,  in  the  free  comradery  of  sea-going  folk, 
why  should  not  the  captain  of  the  Thetis  know  the 
captain  of  the  Tropic  Bird,  and  make  an  appoint- 
ment with  him  by  wire  or  otherwise  I 


LOVE  AND  ELECTRICITY  39 

During  the  lunch  hour,  Tevis,  who  had  been 
thinking  a  great  deal  about  Captain  Thrale 's 
schooner,  decided  that  he  would  go  down  and  get  a 
glimpse  of  her.  So  he  cut  short  his  mid-day  meal, 
and,  leaving  a  boy  in  the  shop,  took  a  car  for  the 
Creek.  Getting  off  at  Taylor's  wharf,  he  walked 
quickly  through  the  gate  and,  looking  down  a  long 
lumber-pile  perspective,  saw  the  two  masts  of  a 
schooner  which,  he  judged,  must  be  the  Tropic 
Bird.  At  the  water's  edge  he  read  her  name  on 
the  rusty-looking  stern. 

"  She's  overdue  at  the  boneyard,"  he  commented 
as  he  gazed  at  the  old  schooner,  "but  most  of  the 
boats  of  the  island  trade  are  ancient  mariners. 
Yes;  she's  an  antique  all  right." 

There  was  a  bustle  aboard  and  overside,  men 
going  and  coming,  carrying  supplies  in  boxes  and 
bags.  At  the  shore  end  of  the  gangway  he  saw 
little  Captain  Thrale  talking  with  a  large  marine- 
looking  man  with  a  low  brow  whose  face  he  thought 
he  had  seen  somewhere  before.  As  he  approached 
the  gangway,  the  big  sailor,  who  was  speaking  to 
Thrale,  shifted  his  position  a  little  so  that  his  back 
was  toward  the  young  man. 

"Yes,  Captain,"  he  heard  the  fellow  say  very 
deferentially,  his  cap  in  his  hand,  "I'm  as  handy 
a  man  aboard  ship  as  ever  you  saw — you  don't 
make  no  mistake  a-hirin'  me." 

"Jenkins!"  muttered  Tevis,  with  a  quick  scowl 
and  a  flash  of  his  blue-gray  eye.  Then  abruptly 
and  without  uttering  a  word,  he  sprang  upon  the 


40  THE    SEA    HAWK 

man,  his  strong  hands  clutching  him  by  the  back 
of  the  neck  with  a  grip  of  steel. 

" Hello  there !"  gurgled  Jenkins,  "let  go!  You 
hurt,  don't  you  know  it!" 

"Of  course  I  know  it!"  was  the  cool  reply. 
"How  are  you,  Captain  Thrale!" 

"Why,  bless  me!"  cried  the  Captain,  "It's 
Tevis,  the  electrician. ' ' 

"Yes,  Captain;  and  I  want  to  say  something 
about  this  man."  Jenkins  wriggled  and  tried  to 
turn  about,  but  he  was  held  as  firmly  as  if  his  head 
were  in  the  stocks.  "You  don't  want  him  aboard 
your  ship,  and  I'll  tell  you  why." 

Hastily,  while  Jenkins  struggled  in  his  harsh 
grasp,  he  gave  the  Captain  an  impressionistic 
sketch  of  his  treatment  at  the  man's  hands. 

' '  Dear  me ! ' '  exclaimed  the  mild-mannered  little 
Thrale. 

"He's  a  lyin',  Captain!"  gasped  Jenkins.  "I 
don't  know  him  at  all,  blame  me  if  I  do!"  He 
writhed  futilely  in  the  implacable  grasp. 

"Oh,  you  know  me  all  right,"  drawled  Tevis, 
shaking  the  man  so  that  his  jaws  clicked  together, 
1  i  and,  damn  you,  you'll  know  me  a  lot  better  before 
you're  much  older.  Turn  round  now !  Excuse  me, 
Captain. ' ' 

He  let  go  of  Jenkins '  throat,  dodged  a  swinging 
blow  aimed  at  him  by  the  enraged  beast,  whose 
eyes  blazed  like  a  mad  bull 's,  and  planted  his  hard 
fist  on  the  man's  cheek. 


And  you  must  take  Sanatogen 
regularly  for  several  weeks 


r  I  ^HIS  urgent  advice  is  given  by  physicians  day  by  day 
in  every  civilized  land  — wberever  sufferers  from  starved 
nerves  and  poor  digestion  seek  relief.  There  is  a 
reason  for  this.  Physicians  know  that  Sanatogen  is  a  sub- 
stance capable  of  supplying  the  real  needs  of  a  starved, 
overwrought  nervous  system — that  it  is  a  scientific  combina- 
tion of  albumen  and  organic  phosphorus  —a  compound  eagerly 
absorbed  by  the  hungry  tissues  and  possessing  unique  tonic 
and  reconstructive  qualities.  They  also  know  from  their 
own  observation  what  Sanatogen  has  done  for  others.  They 
have  watched  its  revivifying  action  on  persons  whose  nerv- 
ous strength  has  been  undermined  by  overwork,  worry  or 
disease,  they  have  observed  how  it  has  infused  new  energy, 
life  and  elasticity  into  starved  nerves,  how  it  has  regen- 
erated the  appetite,  digesiion,  in  short,  how  wonderfully  it 
has  helped  to  make  the  human  machinery  fit  to  perform  its 
functions  in  the  most  perfect  manner. 

There  are  on  file  with  the  owners  of  Sanotogen  no  less  than  15,000 
letters  from  p.-acticing  physicians  praising,  endorsing,  Sanatogen. 
Truly  a  magnificent  monument  to  the  value  of  this  food  tonic. 
But  no  less  impressive  is  the  enthusiastic  testimony  of  patients  them- 
selves. Men  and  women  in  the  forefront  of  human  endeavor,  states- 
men, prelates,  authors,  lawyers,  have  written  above  their  own  signatures 
of  the  wonderful  benefits  received  from  Sanatogen. 

We  ask  you-  earnestly  to  (jet  a^'inaintc'l  n-ith  Sanatogen.  Investigate 
our  claims  first,  if  I/OH  like  Auk  your  dn  -tor  about  it,  but  in  any  case 
write  at  once  for  our  book,  "  Our  Nerves  of  To-morrow."  the  work  of  a 
physician-author,  written  in  an  absorbini/li/  interesting  sti/le,  beauti- 
fiilli/  illustrated  and  contafiiiii'/  fa-Is  nivl  information  <>f  i-it-il  interest 
to  you.  This  book  also  contains  evidence  of  the  value  of  Sanatogen, 
vihich  is  as  remarkable  as  it  is  conclusive. 

Sanaloaen  is  sold  in  three  sizes,  $1.00,  $1.90.  $3.60 

Get  it  from  your  druggis'-if  not  obtainable,  from  him.  sent  niton 
/i/l  of  i>rifi' 

5«6    EVERETT     BUILDING 
UNION  SyrAiiE.  XKW  YORK 


The  Bauer  Chemical  Company, 


Hon.  Miles  Poindexter 

U.  S.  Senator   from  Washington 

writes : 

"  I  am  sure  Sanatog-en  has  bene- 
fited me  greatly.  A  few  weeks' 
use  of  it  has  produced  better  'li- 
g-estion,  better  sleep,  and  a  feeling 
of  greater  strength." 

Bon.  John  W.  Kern 

U.   S.   Senator    from    Indian*. 

writes  : 

"As  a  restorative  and  tonic, 
Sanatog'en  has  been  of  real  benefit 
to  me.  I  feel  sure  that  this  pre- 
paration is  deserving-  of  all  the 
praise  that  has  been  bestowe  1  <>-i 


Prof.  Thos.  B.  Slillman, 

M.  S.,  Ph.  D. 

The  well-known  research  chem- 
ist of  Stevens  Institute  writes  • 
"  The  Chemical  union  of  the  con- 
stituents of  Sanatog-en  is  a  true 
one.  representative  of  the  highest 
skill  in  the  formation  of  a  product 
containing-  Phosphorus  in  the  or- 
ganic phosphate  condition,  and  so 
combined  that  dig-estion  and  as- 
similation of  Sanatog-en  are  rend- 
ered complete  with  the  greatest 
ease." 

John  Burroughs 

The  distinguished  naturalist  and 

author,  writes  : 

"I  am  sure  1  have  been  greatly 
benefited  by  Sanatog-en.  My  sleep 
is  fifty  per  cent,  better  than  it  WHS 
one  vear  ag-o.  and  my  mind  aiiil 
su'HMLj-th  are  much  improved." 


HISTORV 


Qroscup's  Synchronic  Chart 

UNITED  STATES  HISTO 


By  GEORGE  E.  GROSCUP,  B.  A. 


HISTORY 

MADE 

VISIBLE 


Oar  Nation' 
A  u, 

For  the  Teaffi 
dent,  th« 
theH 

The  Chart, 


••i: 


This 

cut  shows 
how  the  chart, 
folded  and  bound 
at  end  of  volume, 
may  be  read,   page  by 
je,    or    drawn    out    into 
full  view. 


ches,  Presents 
Eye  in  One  V 

entire  course  o 
Slates  History  J- 

FOUR    CENT 

and  at  the  same 
contemporary  e 
European  Histo' 


The    TeXl 


of  the  volume,  presents  a  "mass  of  systematically  arranged  information" 
it  is  impossible  to  find  in  any  other  one  volume,  and  includes  :  — 

1.  A  Complete  Outline  of  United  States  History,  arranged  year  by  year,  with  the  important  events    «rr  ?*• 

2.  The   Territorial  Development  of  the  United  States  traced  steo  by  step,  and  illustrated  with  31  Key  \\v. 

3.  The  Growth  o{  the  Constitution,   Political  Parties,  Slaviry,  the  Tariff,  etc  ,  with  their  development  ar.  •' 

traced  year  by  year. 

4.  Statistical  Tables  with  Diagrams  making  visible  such  topics  as  Immigration,  Economic   and   Political 
Presidential  Elections,  Comparisons  with  Foreign  Countries,  Etc. 

OPINIONS  OF  LEADING   EDUCATORS 


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"  You  may  quote  me  as  savins'  that  I  believe  it 
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of  education  and  for  the  purpose  of  reference." 

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LOVE  AND  ELECTRICITY  41 

"That's  a  good  one,"  cried  a  sailor,  dropping 
the  bag  he  was  carrying  up  the  gangway. 

"It  was  like  the  kick  of  a  mule,"  said  another 
nian;  and  they  all  gathered  about  interestedly 
•-hile    Captain  Thrale   stood,   with  wide-opened 
yes,  repeating  "Dear  me — dear  me!" 
At  the  word  "kick"  Jenkins  caught  his  cue,  and 
1  fter  he  had  failed  to  parry  three  or  four  resound- 
•"''••••jhg  blows  that  fell  upon  his  face  and  neck,  he 
fang  forward  quickly,  feinting  with  his  hands, 
,d  while  Tevis  was  lunging  toward  him,  up  came 
:f  the  toe  of  a  rough  boot  that  narrowly  missed  the 
.  g young  man's  chin. 
ai      "Foul!"  cried  a  man  in  the  little  circle. 

The  word  was  hardly  uttered  and  Jenkins'  foot 
was  still  in  the  air,  when  there  was  a  swift  doubling 
of  the  young  man 's  arm  about  the  cowardly  fight- 
er's  ankle,  a  heaving  haul  and  the  great  brute  lay 
prone  upon  the  dock. 

"Get  up,  you  thing!"  cried  Tevis.    "If  you  try 
..,,,,  that  again,  I'll  mangle  you!" 

"And  serve  him  jolly  well  right,"  said  a  sailor, 
"that's  what  it  would." 

The  man  scrambled  up,  his  face,  in  its  mad  rage, 

*.   horrible  to  see.    He  jumped  at  his  antagonist  like 

a  tiger,  belching  blasphemy.     Tevis  saw  that  he 

was  equal  to  any  sort  of  murderous  tactics,  as  was 

evinced  by  his  foul  thrusts  and  tackles. 

"Oh,  well,"  he  said  at  last,  "if  that's  your  style, 
you'll  have  to  take  it  this  way." 

As  he  said  the  words,  he  sprang  upon  Jenkins, 


42  THE    SEA    HAWK 

caught  his  neck  under  his  steel-like  left  arm  and, 
holding  him  over  so  that  the  squirming,  battling 
man  could  do  little  more  than  flail  the  air,  he  calm- 
ly proceeded  to  batter  his  face  and  the  whole  upper 
part  of  his  body  with  his  knotted  right  fist,  while 
the  fellow  writhed  and  thrashed  and  Captain 
Thrale  kept  crying  ' '  Dear  me !  Dear  me ! ' ' 

Under  this  fierce  rain  of  blows  it  was  not  long 
before  the  hulking  brute  bawled  for  mercy,  finally 
dropping  upon  the  wharf,  his  head  shielded  under 
his  arm  and  bellowing  wildly: 

"Let  me  go — let  me  go !  IVe  had  enough.  I'm 
down  an '  out,  that 's  what  I  am.  Let  me  go ! ' ' 

"Very  well,"  panted  Tevis.  "You  can  go, 
though  I  ought  to  hand  you  over  to  the  police." 
The  young  man  took  out  a  handkerchief  and  wiped 
his  perspiring  face.  "You  tried  to  murder  me, 
and  you  ought  to  go  to  jail  for  it;  but  what  you 
just  got  is  the  kind  of  punishment  IVe  been  want- 
ing to  give  you."  He  picked  up  his  straw  hat, 
which  had  fallen  to  the  wharf  and  dusted  it  with 
his  handkerchief. 

"And  it's  what  he  deserves  all  right,"  spoke  up 
one  of  the  little  group  of  sailors  that  had  quickly 
gathered  about.  ' 1 1  knew  him  in  Boston,  sir.  He 's 
a  Yankee  cut-throat  if  ever  there  was  one." 

"Well,  I'd  like  to  know!"  piped  a  high-pitched 
female  voice  from  the  schooner's  deck. 

Looking  up,  Tevis  saw  the  sharp,  determined- 
looking  face  of  Mrs.  Thrale. 

"I  don't  think,  young  man,  you  ought  to  'a-made 


LOVE  AND  ELECTRICITY  43 

all  this  fuss  right  here  at  our  gangway/'  she  com- 
plained. ' '  It  ain  't  Christian  to  fight  that  way.  You 
ought  to  a-let  the  law  take  its  course. ' ' 

"I'm  sorry  to  have  disturbed  you,  madam,"  said 
Tevis  as  he  watched  Jenkins  crawl  away  among 
the  lumber  piles;  "but  I  couldn't  let  him  go  with- 
out seeing  him  punished  right  here.  I'm  sailing 
on  the  schooner,  you  know,  and  the  law  is  a  little 
slow  sometimes.  I  couldn't  wait  to  prosecute 
him." 

"Well,  maybe  you're  right,"  said  Mrs.  Thrale. 
"Coming  aboard!" 

"Thank  you.  I  haven't  time  now.  I've  wasted 
all  I  could  spare  on  Mr.  Jenkins.  I  must  get  back 
to  the  shop.  I  '11  be  down  this  evening,  if  you  like. ' ' 

"All  right,"  said  the  Captain's  wife.  "We'll 
be  expecting  you.  "Come  to  supper,  can't  you, 
and  we  '11  talk  things  over. ' ' 

"Yes,"  said  the  Captain,  "we'll  talk,  things 
over." 

' l  Very  well.  Good  morning ! ' '  And,  lifting  his 
hat,  Tevis  strode  off  to  catch  a  car  he  saw  coming 
over  the  drawbridge  a  little  way  down  the  creek. 

"He's  a  mighty  husky  chap,"  said  one  of  the 
sailors,  glancing  over  to  where  the  collapsed  Jen- 
kins sat  against  a  shingle-pile,  wiping  the  blood 
from  his  face.  In  his  hands  he  held  a  brick  that 
he  had  evidently  intended  to  heave  at  Tevis,  but 
about  which  proceeding  he  had  changed  his  mind. 

"That's  what  he  is,"  said  another  seaman  ad- 
miringly. "Did  yeh  see  how  he  held  the  big  lob- 


44  THE    SEA    HAWK 

ster?  He  got  him  in  shankery  that  time.  Didn't 
give  him  a  chance  to  git  in  one  good  punch,  did 
he?" 

"Here,  you  men,  git  to  work  there,"  command- 
ed Captain  Thrale.  '  '  Eoll  in  them  barrels ! ' ' 

' '  Mercy  sakes !  I  should  say  so ! "  cried  his  wife. 
"All  this  time  lost  over  a  disgraceful  fight!  But," 
she  added,  looking  down  the  long  lumber  lane 
where  Tevis  strode  swiftly  toward  his  trolley  car, 
"He's  got  a  lot  of  grit — that's  what  he  has — to 
tackle  a  big,  rough  sailor  like  that.  He's  the  kind 
we're  looking  for.  And  I'm  awful  glad  we  didn't 
ship  the  other  man  if  he 's  such  a  low-down  rascal 
as  they  say  he  is.  Captain,  them  crates  there 
ought  to  come  aboard  next.  There 's  no  hurry  about 
the  barrels." 


CHAPTER  IV 

A  TALK  WITH  MISS  BEAISTED 

IT  was  not  until  late  in  the  afternoon,  when  the 
sun  hung  low  over  the  brown  hills  of  Sausalito, 
that  Tevis  stepped  from  the  ferryboat,  from  the 
deck  of  which  he  had  already  noted  the  white  hull 
of  the  Thetis  lying  in  the  mouth  of  Richardson's 
Bay.  He  hired  a  boat  and  rowed  out  to  the  yacht, 
passing  up  the  gangway  without  challenge.  The 
first  officer,  who  was  on  deck,  looked  inquiringly 
at  him. 

"Is  Miss  Braisted  aboard?"  asked  the  visitor. 

"Yes;  in  the  saloon  I  think,  sir.  I'll  show  you 
the  way.  You  look  all  right  after  your  trouble  of 
yesterday, "  he  observed.  "Guess  you  weren't 
much  hurt,  after  all?" 

"Not  very  much,"  was  the  reply. 

"That's  the  door,"  he  said,  pointing  to  an  en- 
trance way.  He  went  back  and  Tevis  hesitatingly 
entered  the  saloon,  his  knock  being  answered  by 
a  neatly  dressed  maid. 

In  a  pretty  pink-and-white  afternoon  gown, 
which  made  her  look  less  the  sailor  than  when  he 
had  seen  her  before,  Hazel  Braisted  sat  in  an  easy 
chair  in  the  richly  ornate  room.  Above  and  about 

45 


46  THE    SEA    HAWK 

her  were  innumerable  carved  figures  of  mermaids 
swimming  around  the  mahogany  wainscot,  with 
corbels  of  more  mermaids  supporting  a  cornice, 
above  which  was  a  damask  frieze.  So  much  carv- 
ing made  rather  a  heavy  interior  effect,  and 
against  the  rich  dark  walls  the  trim,  neat  figure 
and  finely  rounded  face  of  Hazel  Braisted  stood 
out  like  a  picture  of  St.  Cecilia.  She  laid  aside 
her  book  as  he  entered.  The  maid  who  had  flitted 
in  at  his  entrance,  flitted  out  again,  and  he  was 
alone  with  the  girl  of  the  Thetis. 

"Oh,  this  is  Mr.  Tevis,"  she  said,  welcoming 
him  with  a  pretty  outstretched  hand  and  a  definite, 
informal  smile.  My  father  told  me  your  name  and 
I  remembered  it  easily,  as  we  have  friends  who 
are  Tevises,  in  New  York.7' 

"  Yes,"  said  the  young  man,  feeling  somehow  as 
if  he  had  known  her  a  long  time,  which  was  natur- 
al as  she  had  been  so  much  in  his  thoughts  of  late ; 
' '  and  you  are  Miss  Braisted.  I  have  come  to  thank 
you  for  saving  my  life.  You  must  have  thought 
me  an  ingrate  not  to  have  done  so  before,  but  I 
knew  nothing  about  it  until  I  went  ashore  and  met 
Mr.  Braisted  and  the  Captain." 

"I  knew  you  didn't,"  she  smiled  graciously,  and 
her  brown  eyes  lighted  up  with  a  friendly  look. 
"And  I  want  you  to  pardon  me  for  laughing  at 
you;  but  in  those  old  clothes  you  did  look  so — 
so " 

"Kidiculous,"  he  finished. 

"I  didn't  say*  that,"  she  said,  smiling  again. 


A  TALK  WITH  MISS  BEAISTED      47 

'  *  How  have  you  been  !  Were  you  much  hurt  1  You 
certainly  recovered  quickly.  We  wanted  to  keep 
you  until  morning,  but  you  ran  away/' 

"Yes,"  he  replied,  "and  you  ran  away,  too." 

She  raised  her  dark  brows  a  little,  and  there 
was  an  inquiring  look  in  her  eyes. 

"I  mean,"  he  explained,  "that  when  I  went 
back  to  thank  you  last  night  the  yacht  was  gone. ' ' 

"Oh,  we  didn't  like  to  stay  in  that  smelly  old 
creek,  among  the  melons  and  things,  so  we  came 
over  here,  where  it's  so  beautiful.  See  how  the 
window  frames  that  island,  and  the  little  one  with 
the  hole  through  it.  What  do  you  call  them1?" 

"Alcatraz  Island  and  Arch  Rock,"  said  Tevis. 
"Do  you  like  the  sea!" 

"I  love  it,"  she  said  fervently.  "I  was  never 
on  such  a  long  cruise  as  this.  We  have  sailed 
thousands  and  thousands  of  miles.  I  have  had  such 
good  company,  too.  My  friend,  Mrs.  Poindexter— 
she  is  a  great  reader  and  knows  everything — has 
been  with  me  on  the  whole  voyage. 

"This  is  a  wonderful  boat,"  he  remarked,  glanc- 
ing about  at  the  mermaids. 

"Yes,"  she  said,  "it  seems  like  home  to  me; 
everything  is  so  convenient. ' ' 

She  leaned  over  and  touched  a  push  button.  The 
dark  interior  instantly  flashed  forth  in  the  light  of 
a  score  of  soft  little  electric  lamps.  This  led  to  a 
talk  on  the  electric  arrangements  aboard  the  yacht. 
He  explained  his  interest  in  the  matter  and  it 
seemed  to  please  her. 


48  THE    SEA    HAWK 

"An  electrical  engineer?"  she  said.  "How  in- 
teresting ! ' '  She  leaned  her  hand  on  her  chin  and 
looked  intently  at  him.  It  was  a  becoming  though 
unconventional  pose.  "I  should  like  to  be  some- 
thing of  that  kind  if  I  were  a  man — something 
wonderfully  advanced  and  scientific." 

He  said  nothing  of  his  commonplace  duties  in 
the  shop  and  of  the  dreary  round  of  bell-hanging 
jobs.  He  was  about  to  speak  of  the  south-sea  en- 
terprise, when  he  remembered  the  promise  of  se- 
crecy he  had  made  to  the  Thrales.  But  there  were 
other  electrical  topics.  It  seemed  strange  to  him 
that  the  daughter  of  a  great  millionaire,  doubtless 
full  of  social  ambition,  and  with  a  baronet  dang- 
ling about  her — he  assumed  that  he  was  dangling — 
should  care  for  such  subjects  as  long-distance 
power  transmission  and  arc-lighting,  but  her  eyes 
glowed  when  he  told  her  of  some  of  the  big  things 
that  had  been  done  in  his  line  on  the  coast.  She 
also  seemed  greatly  interested  in  what  he  told  her 
of  university  life  in  California.  On  the  other  hand 
he  became  intent  upon  her  picture  of  Wellesley, 
which,  from  his  far  side  of  the  world,  was  some- 
thing remote.  But,  of  course,  they  came  back  to 
the  yacht. 

"She's  such  a  trim,  steady  boat,"  she  remarked, 
' l  and  fast,  too.  We  expect  to  make  Honolulu  from 
this  port  in  seven  days. ' ' 

"When  shall  you  sail,"  he  asked,  trying  to  back- 
ground his  interest  in  the  matter  by  an  indifferent 
tone. 


A  TALK  WITH  MISS  BRAISTED       49 

' *  To-morrow,  at  noon." 

"And  you're  not  coming  back?"  His  voice  wa- 
vered a  little  here. 

Miss  Braisted  fingered  some  flowers  on  theJtable 
at  her  side  as  she  said : 

"No;  we're  for  Japan,  China,  India  and  home 
by  Suez." 

He  saved  his  sighs  for  a  later  hour,  and  looked 
out  of  the  saloon  window  across  the  hazy  bay  to 
Alcatraz  and  Telegraph  Hill.  Of  course  this  dream 
would  end  as  it  had  begun — in  nothing. 

"I  expect  to  make  a  voyage  myself  before  long," 
he  said  thoughtfully  after  a  while,  "and  to  the 
islands,  too.  You  spoke  of  Honolulu.  Perhaps 
we  shall  meet  there.  But,  no,  I  sail  in  a  slow  boat 
— a  schooner.  And  I  am  to  return  to  California, 
while  you  are  going  around  the  world. ' '  There 
was  obvious  depression  in  his  blue,  eloquent  eyes. 

"Well,  it  may  be  that  I  shall  see  you  down  at 
the  islands."  Then  she  added,  reflectively,  "But 
you  say  yours  is  a  sailing  vessel.  There  isn't  so 
much  likelihood  of  it  then,  as  our  visits  will  be 
very  short  at  the  ports  we  put  into.  Mrs.  Poin- 
dexter  says  we're  just  playing  tag  with  the 
places. ' ' 

"I  had  hoped,"  was  his  venturesome  remark, 
"that  you  might  be  making  your  home  here  on 
the  coast.  Then  I  might  have  a  chance  some  day 
to  repay  you  for  saving  my  life." 

"By  saving  me  in  turn?"  she  said  with  twink- 
ling eyes.  ' '  That  would  hardly  be  a  fair  exchange. 


50  THE    SEA    HAWK 

I  am  so  useless,  while  you  men  of  electricity  are 
helping  the  world  so  much.  Then  you  mightn't 
have  so  easy  a  time  of  it  as  I  had.  You  might  be 
pulled  along  and  trampled  by  a  runaway  horse,  or 
something. ' ' 

To  his  serious  nature  it  seemed  strange  that  this 
angelic  woman  coujd  make  light  of  such  matters. 
It  came  to  him  that  he  had  not  fully  impressed  her 
with  his  sense  of  gratitude.  He  was  trying  to 
think  what  he  might  add  to  his  first  insufficient 
words,  while  she  rippled  on  about  the  yacht  and 
the  cruise.  But  before  he  could  say  anything  more 
a  door  opened  as  doors  open  on  a  stage,  and— 
enter  the  baronet !  He  was  dressed  in  smart  Lon- 
don clothes  of  a  pronouncedly  checked  pattern  and 
with  his  trim  brown  beard,  broad  face  and  cold 
gray  eyes,  he  looked  the  part.  He  was  followed 
by  Mr.  Braisted,  who  had  politely  waved  him  in 
ahead,  a  deference  to  which  the  Englishman 
seemed  quite  accustomed.  Of  course  there  were 
greetings,  after  their  kind — a  pleasant  one  from 
Miss  Braisted 's  father,  and  an  indefinably  disap- 
proving one  from  Miss  Braisted 's  lordly  admirer, 
now  formally  introduced  to  Tevis  as  Sir  Charles 
Walden. 

"Ah,"  said  the  Englishman,  putting  up  his 
monocle  and  looking  Tevis  over  as  if  he  had  been 
a  horse  or  a  hunting  dog,  ' '  the  boatman — the  man 
who  had  the  little  mill  with  Jenkins  and  whom  you 
fished  out  of  the  creek  yesterday.  Most  extraor- 


A  TALK  WITH  MISS  BEAISTED       51 

dinary  performance!    As  I  have  said  before,  you 
American  girls  are  equal  to  anything. ' ' 

' l  She  was  equal  to  that  occasion  all  right, ' '  said 
her  father  proudly. 

Tevis  wondered  if  there  were  an  understanding 
between  the  young  woman  and  the  baronet.  He 
was  tremendously  concerned  lest  it  should  be  a 
typical  case  of  British  fortune-hunting  to  which 
5  the  girP/s  father  had  given  willing  ear.  Still,  even 
vas  he  looked  at  it  from  his  inexperienced  point  of 
view,  a  baronet  could  be  no  great  catch  from  a 
millionaire's  standpoint,  if,  indeed,  it  were  the 
fact  that  Braisted  was  eager  for  a  title  for  his 
daughter.  To  be  sure  the  woman  who  married  Sir 
Charles  would  be  Lady  Walden,  and  that,  to  many 
American  ears,  would  sound  large. 

Tevis  glanced  at  the  girl  while  she  poured  the 
tea  which  had  just  been  brought  in  by  a  remarka- 
bly clean  looking,  white-clothed  Japanese  boy.  She 
fascinated  him.  He  could  hardly  keep  his  eyes  off 
the  fine,  classic  profile  detached  against  the  dark 
wainscot.  He  said  little  until  Walden,  lifting  his 
tea-cup,  which  looked  absurdly  small  in  his  large 
red  hand,  aimed  some  fierce  shafts  at  American 
institutions,  declaring  among  other  things  that  the 
freedom  of  which  Americans  were  always  boasting 
was  not  equal  to  the  freedom  of  British-born  peo- 
ple and  that  as  for  government  the  country  really 
didn't  have  any.  So,  before  he  was  aware  of  'it, 
Tevis  was  drawn  into  one  of  those  interminable, 
and  profitless  arguments  with  the  Briton  as  to  the 


52  THE    SEA    HAWK 

respective  merits  of  their  two  countries.  But  Miss 
Braisted,  with  the  neat  tact  of  the  acute  American 
girl,  presently  led  the  conversation  out  of  the  dan- 
gerous rapids. 

Tevis  did  not  stay  long  after  that,  but  long 
enough  to  see  the  face  of  the  money  king  relapse 
once  or  twice  from  its  social  pleasantry  into  the 
wan  look  of  misgiving  he  had  noted  the  night  be- 
fore. That  he  was  a  man  with  * '  something  on  his 
mind"  seemed  clear  to  him;  but  that  his  daughter 
knew  what  that  something  was  and  shared  the 
dread  of  it  with  him,  was  unlikely,  for  she  was 
blithe  enough. 

Just  as  he  was  preparing  to  leave  the  yacht, 
Mrs.  Poindexter,  who  had  been  making  a  visit 
ashore,  came  down  the  companion.  When  Tevis 
was  presented  to  the  stout,  cheery,  cultured-look- 
ing little  woman  whom  he  was  at  once  willing  to 
concede  to  be*  "good  company, "  as  the  girl  had 
called  her,  he  saw  by  a  certain  brightness  in  her 
lively  eyes  and  a  certain  smile  on  her  face  that  she 
knew  who  he  was  and  that  he  had  been  sufficiently 
discussed  aboard  the  yacht.  They  exchanged  a  few 
polite  sentences,  while  Walden  and  Braisted, 
standing  a  little  apart,  talked  of  the  sights  they 
had  seen  ashore. 

"Well,"  said  Tevis,  as  he  rose  to  go,  "I  fear  I 
have  extended  this  call  unconscionably.  Good- 
bye, Miss  Braisted!" 

"Good-bye,"  she  said  as  he  took  her  hand  as  a 


A  TALK  WITH  MISS  BRAISTED       53 

devotee  might  have  taken  a  sacred  relic;  "I  hope 
we'll  meet  down  at  the  islands/' 

' i  There 's  hardly  a  chance  of  that, ' '  he  said,  mak- 
ing a  dismal  failure  of  his  attempt  to  return  the 
smile — "not  while  I  sail  in  a  slow  schooner  and 
you  go  in  a  fast  boat  like  this.  But  in  any  event, " 
he  added  in  a  low  tone  that  the  others  did  not  hear, 
1 1  so  long  as  I  live,  I  shall  remember  you  and  how 
you  saved  my  life. ' ' 

"Good-bye,  Mr.  Tevis,"  said  Braisted,  coming 
over  and  giving  his  hand  a  hearty  grip.  "Very 
glad  to  have  met  you. ' ' 

Walden  merely  bowed.  He  was  satisfied  to  be 
rid  of  a  visitor,  who,  though  but  a  craftsman,  had 
had  the  assurance  to  engage  him  in  argument. 

Mrs.  Poindexter,  unlike  the  baronet,  not  only 
saw  Tevis'  extended  hand,  but  gave  it  a  friendly 
clasp,  and  made  one  of  her  bright  little  speeches. 

Tevis  gazed  once  more  into  the  dark  eyes  of  the 
winsome  girl.  It  was  such  a  wistful,  yearning, 
and  yet  baffled  look,  that  she  did  not  fail  to  catch 
its  meaning.  Her  eyes  fell  and  her  smile  faded. 
He  saw  the  change  in  her  face,  but  instantly  re- 
flected that  it  was  but  a  touch  of  her  finely  respon- 
sive spirit.  He  could  mean  nothing  to  her,  after 
all.  It  had  been  but  as  a  meeting  of  two  in  a  crowd, 
the  glimpsing  of  a  face,  a  meeting  of  eyes  and  a 
swift  but  infinite  divergence. 

He  said  "good-bye"  to  her  again,  moved  quickly 
up  the  companion  to  the  deck,  and  rowed  away  in 


54  THE    SEA    HAWK 

the  dusk  with  a  quick,  hard,  vindictive  stroke  that 
was  a  protest  against  inflexible  destiny. 

Looking  back  at  the  yacht  after  rowing  a  little 
while,  he  saw  through  the  gathering  twilight  a 
girlish  figure  on  the  after-deck  and  his  heart  told 
him  it  was  Hazel.  Perhaps  she  had  taken  enough 
interest  in  him  to  watch  him  row  ashore,  though 
this  hardly  seemed  likely.  But — was  it  a  trick 
of  his  fond  fancy  or  was  that  fluttering  white 
something  in  her  hand  a  handkerchief,  and  was 
she  waving  him  farewell?  Well,  he  would  wave 
in  return  on  the  rare  chance  that  it  might  be.  He 
wigwagged  his  handkerchief  toward  her,  but  was 
not  sure  that  she  replied  to  his  farewell  signal.  So 
he  pulled  slowly  ashore  in  a  strange  flux  of  moods, 
landed  at  the  little  wharf  and  went  aboard  the 
waiting  ferryboat.  As  he  stood  on  the  upper  deck 
and  saw  the  Thetis  blur  out  in  the  darkness  and 
distance,  it  seemed  that  something  was  catching  at 
his  heart  and  dragging  it  down  into  the  depths  of 
the  bay.  For  she  would  sail  away  on  the  morrow. 

Just  as  he  was  leaving  the  ferry  on  the  Oakland 
side  he  caught  a  glimpse  of  Captain  Durable  in 
the  crowd.  Was  he  going  to  keep  his  appointment 
with  Captain  Thralef  This  was  "to-morrow 
night,"  and  the  hour  and  place  were  doubtless 
near.  This  trim  yacht  captain,  as  smart  in  his 
blue  uniform  and  cap  as  any  Sousa — what  business 
or  social  relations  could  be  have  with  the  fusty 
little  master  of  the  Tropic  Bird? 


CHAPTER  V 

SOME  ODD  SHIPMATES 

THE  tide-rip  battled  above  the  bar  outside  the 
Golden  Gate,  where  the  Tropic  Bird,  heeling  under 
the  gusty  trades,  bravely  fought  her  way  out  to 
sea.  Before  night  the  headlands  would  sink  into 
the  blue  Pacific  and  the  Coast  Range  would  be  lost 
to  her.  Tevis,  standing  on  the*  after-deck,  his  legs 
well  braced  against  the  unaccustomed  heave  and 
roll  of  the  ship,  was  thinking  of  Hazel  Braisted 
and  the  Thetis.  Her  sailing  over  this  same  stretch 
of  sea  only  a  few  days  before  had  left  a  wake  of 
romance  across  these  waters.  She  must  now  be 
breathing  the-  softer  air  of  the  South,  for  she 
should  be  half-way  to  Honolulu.  Would  he  meet 
her  down  there?  It  was  unlikely,  for  the  yacht 
must  be  gaining  eight  knots  an  hour  upon  the 
schooner,  and  would  leave  port  long  before  she 
reached  it,  even  if  the  old  craft  put  in  there,  which 
was  uncertain,  for  the  Thrales  had  revealed  noth- 
ing to  him  as  to  their  sailing  route. 

Sadly  he  reflected  that  there  was  now  only  this 
in  common  between  him  and  Hazel  Braisted — they 
were  sailing  the  same  ocean.  There  was  not  much 
in  that  thought,  but  there  was  something.  At 
least  he  was  not  left  ashore  while  she  sailed  away. 

55 


56  THE    SEA    HAWK 

Down  by  the  Farallones  the  trades  took  the 
schooner  in  their  teeth.  The  cordage  began  to 
hum,  the  dingy  sails  of  the  old  Tropic  Bird  puffed 
out  and  her  nose  dipped  under  a  souse  of  spray. 
There  was  aboard  the  little  vessel  all  the  sup- 
pressed excitement  of  the  long  voyager's  first 
plunge  into  the  open  ocean.  But  soon  she  sailed 
into  a  racing  drift  of  fog  that  blotted  out  every- 
thing but  the  near  water  and  dampened  the  elation 
of  the  start.  A  mournful  siren  wailed  from  the 
Farallones,  and  continued  its  unhappy  call  to  them 
until  they  were  well  out  to  sea,  pitching  on  a  vast 
world  of  unquiet  water  amid  cold  sweeps  of  misty 
scud. 

"A  pretty  decent  start,"  Tevis  heard  Mrs. 
Thrale  say  to  the  Captain  as  they  stood  in  the  lee 
of  the  forward  house.  ' l  The  tide  serves  well,  but 
goodness  me !  I  hate  a  gray  blanket  like  this." 

How  perfectly  she  looked  the  part  of  the  woman 
of  the  sea  Tevis  now  had  a  chance  to  note.  In  a 
long,  heavy  brown  ulster  that  came  down  to  her 
feet,  and  with  a  little  blue  cap  pulled  well  over  her 
head,  she  faced  the  raw,  pelting  fog'  with  a  rigid, 
resolute  air,  her  deep-wrinkled,  half-shut  eyes 
piercing  the  murk  ahead,  and  the  prick  of  the  wind, 
bringing  the  color  to  her  hard  cheeks,  as  to  a  girl's. 

He  heard  her  ask  sharply  why  the  fog  bell  was 
not  being  sounded,  and  a  flaw  of  wind  blew  the 
Captain's  mild  reply  to  his  ears: 

4 'It  ain't  thick  enough  yet." 


SOME  ODD  SHIPMATES  57 

"Yes;  it  is,  too,  and  there's  more  of  it  coining. 
May  be  dirt  in  this,  for  all  we  know. ' ' 

So  the  bell  began  to  ring  and  kept  up  its  dismal 
note  far  into  the  night. 

Tevis  had  been  looking  over  the  schooner  and 
the  crew,  and  getting  acquainted  with  his  assist-1; 
ant,  a  likely  lad,  named  Jim  Reynolds,  engaged  at 
the  last  moment  of  the  hurried  start  on  the  voyage. 
Of  the  Tropic  Bird  there  was  not  much  to  be  said. 
She  was  small,  with  cramped,  but  wonderfully 
clean,  cabins,  the  walls  of  which  were  covered  with 
the  peeling  paint  of  many  years.  In  fact  every- 
thing about  her  suggested  age,  even  to  the  rigging 
and  the  patches  on  the  old  weather-darkened  sails. 
But  her  cleanliness  was  marvellous  and  was  due  to 
Mrs.  Thrale's  careful  marine  housewifery.  Every 
bit  of  brasswork  or  glass  aboard  ship  was  polished 
and  cleaned  until  it  shone. 

The  crew  had  been  a  surprise  to  Tevis.  A  little 
craft  like  the  Tropic  Bird  might  easily  have  been 
handled  by  four  or  five  men,  but  she  must  have 
had  a  score,  not  counting  eight  taken  along  espe- 
cially for  the  diving  and  wrecking  work.  Whenever 
an  order  was  given,  there  would  be  more  men  tumb- 
ling up  from  the  forecastle  or  along  deck  than  were 
needed  on  a  square-rigger.  And  as  for  boats  there 
were  half-a-dozen,  including  a  twenty-four  foot 
gasoline  launch. 

At  supper  he  sat  at  the  Captain's  table,  where 
Mrs.  Thrale  poured  the  tea  as  if  she  were  sitting 
at  her  New  England  board.  In  fact,  the  whole 


58  THE    SEA    HAWK 

scheme  of  affairs  in  the  cabin  suggested  the  rigid 
dirt-defying  housekeeping  of  New  England,  in 
which  her  presence  was  dominant  and  pervasive. 
Captain  Thrale  said  grace,  and  she  bowed  her 
head  very  low  and  reverently  and  responded  with 
a  clear  "Amen." 

After  dinner  and  while  talking  with  Thrale  in 
the  after  cabin,  which  was  a  sort  of  sanctuary  to 
cleanliness  and  spruce  arrangement,  Tevis  kept 
studying  Mrs.  Thrale,  who  sat  in  a  rocking-chair, 
with  a  clean  "tidy"  at  her  back,  stroking  a  white 
cat  that  lay  in  her  lap.  At  her  feet  was  a  braided 
rug.  She  said  nothing  to  them  during  the  talk,  but 
he  could  see  by  the  uncomfortable  way  in  which 
the  Captain  glanced  at  her  that  what  he  said  was 
always  with  reference  to  her  approval.  Tevis  could 
not  help  pitying  the  meek  little  man.  He  wondered 
why  he  could  not  have  left  his  wife  ashore. 

Going  on  deck,  Tevis  went  aft  and  stood  near 
the  wheelman  where  he  could  see  the  whirling 
patent  log  marking  off  the  miles.  About  ten 
o'clock  the  fog  lifted  and  a  friendly  little  troop  of 
stars  shone  out  in  the  dark  sky  overhead.  So  he 
turned  in,  with  a  feeling  of  cheer,  but  lay  awake 
a  long  time,  thinking  of  that  other  ship  in  the 
wake  of  which  he  was  sailing,  and  how  her  pro- 
peller was  pushing  the  miles  aside  to  so  much  bet- 
ter purpose  than  the  dingy  wings  of  the  ancient 
Tropic  Bird.  But  his  heart  was  fleet  and  it  chased 
and  caught  the  Thetis  and  boarded  her  in  the  night. 

In  the  morning,  finding  nothing  else  to  do  and 


SOME  ODD  SHIPMATES  59 

not  caring  to  read,  lie  told  the  Captain  lie  would 
like  to  take  a  look  at  the  electrical  outfit  and  see  if 
everything  were  in  good  order.  Thrale  was  on 
deck  talking  with  the  mate.  A  dozen  of  the  super- 
fluous sailors  were  smoking  their  pipes  forward, 
and  the  mate  was  pointing  to  them,  or  was  it  to 
something  out  at  sea — that  long  stratum  of  dun 
smoke  on  the  southern  horizon? 

"Why,"  said  the  Captain,  looking  up  rather 
queerly,  as  Tevis  thought,  "you  don't  have  to  do 

anything  with There's  no  use — you  can't  get 

at  the  stuff  anyway.  It's  all  down  in  the  hold  and 
safe  enough." 

"Very  well,"  replied  the  young  man,  "but  I 
thought  I  should  like  to  look  it  over  and  see  how 
the  boxes  and  crates  had  been  stowed.  You  know 
those  globes  are  breakable.  I  should  have  seen 
them  put  away  myself;  but  had  to  go  hunting 
around  at  the  last  minute  to  hire  my  assistant." 

"Oh,  they're  stowed  away  all  right,"  said  the 
Captain.  "I  saw  to  it  myself." 

The  mate  was  looking  through  his  glass  at  ihe 
smoke-drift. 

"It's  her,  all  right,"  he  said  at  last.  "It's  her 
stack  and  masts." 

Tevis  wondered  what  the  vessel  might  be.  Of 
course  it  was  not  the  Thetis.  She  should  be  over  a 
thousand  miles  away  by  this  time.  He  sauntered 
aimlessly  about  the  deck,  and  from  time  to  time 
there  came  to  him  the  queer  look  which  Captain 
Thrale 's  face  had  worn  when  he  had  spoken  of  the 


60  THE    SEA    HAWK 

electric  outfit.  Being  with  the  boatswain  a  little 
later,  he  ventured  to  question  him. 

' < Electric  fixtures ? ' '  he  laughed.  l '  We  ain 't  got 
no  electric  fixtures.  This  ain't  no  liner. " 

He  explained  that  they  were  part  of  the  cargo — • 
they  were  along  with  the  diving  apparatus. 

"  Cargo  ?"  laughed  the  man  again.  "Well,  if 
you  call  eighty  tons  of  Oakland  rock,  cargo,  all 
right.  That's  all  the  cargo  we  got,  except  them 
steamer-hands  there  forward. ' '  He  laughed  again, 
this  time  contemptuously.  Then  of  a  sudden  he 
bethought  himself.  "Who  are  you?  I  mean  what 
is  your  berth  to  be?  Quartermaster?" 

"No,"  replied  Tevis  simply.  "I'm  the  elec- 
trician. What  do  you  mean  by  steamer  hands  ? ' ' 

The  man's  face  took  on  a  rigidity  equal  to  that 
of  Mrs.  Thrale 's. 

' '  Oh,  you're  the  elctrician !  Why  didn't  you  say 
so?"  he  exclaimed.  "Of  course,  I  ain't  had  no 
time  to  git  acquainted,  so  I  didn't  know.  But — 
it's  all  right.  You'll  find  the  things  all  there  when 
you  want  'em. ' '  He  walked  aft,  leaving  the  young 
man  to  puzzle  over  his  strange  contradictions. 

Tevis  went  over  and  hovered  around  the  Captain 
and  the  mate,  they  had  been  joined  by  Mrs.  Thrale, 
who  came  aft  with  her  white  cat  in  her  arms.  They 
stood  near  the  rail,  looking  off  at  the  smudge  of 
smoke  in  the  south,  which  seemed  to  be  floating  a 
little  nearer. 

"That's  her  all  right,"  said  Mrs.  Thrale,  with 
a  note  of  excitement  in  her  voice.  "Must  be,  for 


SOME  ODD  SHIPMATES  61 

there's  Point  Sur  to  eastward.  I  was  afraid  we 
wouldn't  pick  her  up  before  afternoon,  but  the 
wind  has  held  good."  Turning,  she  saw  the  elec- 
trician and  said:  "Fine  day,  Mr.  Tevis,"  and 
began  to  talk  about  the  gulls  that  were  following 
the  ship,  leading  him  aft  to  see  them. 

"What  vessel  is  that  out  there — a  coast  steam- 
er !"  he  asked. 

She  looked  toward  the  gulls  as  she  replied:  "I 
guess  so.  Ain't  it  strange  how  they  carry  their 
legs?  See  that  one  with  his  foot  hanging  down- 
must  have  been  wounded  or  something.  Poor  old 
Port!"  she  said  to  the  cat.  "Does  he  want  to  get 
down."  The  cat  sprang  to  the  deck,  arched  his 
back  and  rubbed  against  Tevis '  trouser  leg. 

They  talked  for  a  while  about  the  birds,  while 
he  thought  of  the  steamer.  Then  Mrs.  Thrale  went 
below.  He  walked  over  to  the  wheel,  and  by  the 
binnacle  box  he  saw  a  pair  of  marine  glasses  which 
he  picked  up  furtively,  clapped  to  his  eyes,  and 
pointed  toward  the  distant  vessel.  He  screwed  the 
glasses  down  a  bit  to  get  the  focus,  and  suddenly 
in  the  little  circle,  there  danced  before  his  eyes  the 
familiar  lines  of  the  Thetis!  Yes;  there,  he  saw 
again,  though  with  faint  definition,  the  beautiful 
floating  home  of  Hazel  Braisted — far  in  the  offing, 
to  be  sure,  but  yet  within  his  vision.  What  had 
happened  to  delay  her  ?  Had  her  sailing  date  been 
postponed  or  had  she  been  to  visit  some  up-coast 
port  and  was  now  on  her  way  south?  These  ques- 
tions bothered  Tevis. 


62  THE    SEA    HAWK 

All  day  long  they  kept  the  yacht  in  view,  some- 
times away  out  on  the  hoop  of  the  horizon,  then 
again  so  near  that  they  could  see  the  moving  dots 
of  people  aboard.  Tevis  watched  her  closely.  Once 
a  wee  white  object  iked  itself  in  his  mind  as  Hazel, 
and  his  breath  quickened  with  delight.  It  was  not 
often  that  he  could  obtain  the  use  of  the  glass,  or 
he  might  have  made  her  out  beyond  peradventure, 
though  this  his  heart  did,  not  once,  but  many  times. 
How  slowly  the  yacht  must  be  moving  to  admit  the 
schooner  to  come  so  near.  Was  she  disabled  ?  On 
one  or  two  long  tacks  they  almost  lost  her,  but  at 
night,  with  a  fair  wind,  they  kept  her  lights  in 
sight,  and  from  his  little  round  peephole  of  a  win- 
dow they  swung  up  to  him  out  of  the  sea  over  and 
over  again,  while  he  lay  in  his  berth,  and  gazed 
across  the  dark  water. 

In  the  morning  the  yacht's  white  hull  glittered 
in  the  bright  sunlight  not  two  miles  away,  as  she 
steamed  slowly  south.  It  seemed  likely  to  Tevis 
that  something  had  happened  to  her  machinery, 
and  yet  at  times  she  made  fair  speed,  being  at 
noon  merely  another  smoke-bank  to  them. 

Thinking  of  the  excitement  of  Mrs.  Thrale  and 
the  officers  when  the  Thetis  "had  first  been  picked 
up,  he  could  come  to  no  other  conclusion  than  that 
there  was  a  relation  of  some  sort  between  the  two 
vessels,  particularly  as  the  sailing  date  of  the 
yacht  must  have  been  changed  to  that  of  fhe 
schooner ;  and  the  thought  was  a  welcome  one.  But 
clearly  that  relation,  whatever  it  might  be,  was  to 


SOME  ODD  SHIPMATES  63 

be  kept  in  the  dark,  for  not  only  had  Mrs.  Thrale 
and  the  Captain  discouraged  his  question,  but  now 
they  seemed  to  pay  little  attention  to  the  distant 
steamer.  Here  was  a  puzzle,  or  possibly  no  puzzle 
at  all;  for  what  could  the  cheap  little  old  hulk  in 
which  they  sailed  have  to  do  with  the  splendid 
Thetis?  What  could  her  master  have  to  do  with 
Thrale  T 

It  occurred  to  him  that  he  had  within  the  fort- 
night asked  himself  that  last  question  before,  an3 
then  the  remembrance  of  the  Durable  telephone 
incident  flashed  out  of  his  cerebral  background. 
Clearly  there  was  some  relation  between  the  two 
oddly  assorted  craft.  What  could  it  be!  What 
was  the  meaning  of  this  strange  chase  of  the  Thetis 
and  of  her  deliberate  cruising?  If  it  should  ulti- 
mate in  their  overhauling  or  joining  the  yacht  in 
some  port  yet  to  be  sighted  it  would,  indeed,  be  a 
happy  circumstance,  for  then  he  should  see  Hazel 
again.  But  in  the  meantime  all  he  could  do  would 
be  to  await  events. 

Tevis  soon  saw  that  the  crew  all  hated  Mrs. 
Thrale  and  that  they  held  Thrale  in  contempt  for 
letting  her  order  the  men  about,  as  she  did  at 
times. 

Although  she  had  not  as  yet  practiced  her  sharp 
tongue  upon  him,  Tevis  had  quickly  learned  to  keep 
clear  of  her.  Often  he  would  have  liked  to  ply  her 
with  questions  regarding  the  strange  stern  chase 
of  the  Thetis,  but  he  could  not  brave  the  bar  sinis- 
ter and  those  quickly  bristling  elbows. 


64  THE     SEA    HAWK 

Her  most  forceful  fulmination  was  when  the 
cabin  boy  tied  a  piece  of  paper  to  her  cat's  feet  and 
was  contorting  with  laughter  as  he  watched  the 
animal  cavort  awkwardly  over  the  deck  while  the 
men  looked  on,  highly  entertained,  roaring  with 
merriment.  On  approaching  and  seeing  the  spec- 
tacle, Mrs.  Thrale  clawed  wildly  through  the  circle 
of  men  and,  grasping  the  offending  lad  by  the  arm, 
she  hurled  him  against  the  forward  house,  gasping 
with  rage. 

"Tom  Brannagan!"  she  screeched,  her  face  at 
white  heat,  and  her  black  eyes  snapping.  "You 
little  imp!  To  persecute  a  poor  cat  that  way! 
Mercy  me !  Well,  I  'd  like  to  know !  And  you  men ! 
You  ought  to  be  keelhauled,  every  one  of  you!" 
She  picked  up  the  struggling  cat  and  tore  the 
strings  and  papers  from  its  feet.  ' '  Poor  old  Port ! 
He's  worth  a  hundred  times  as  much  as  any  man 
of  you!  Oh,  I  know  a  lot  of  city-front,  saloon 
loafers  when  I  see  'em.  You  can't  fool  me.  I'd 
like  to  know ! ' ' 

And  she  strode  off  with  her  cat  under  her  arm, 
her  black  skirts  switching  wildly. 

The  men  looked  at  each  other. 

"You  don't  all  feel  cheap  as  sand  ballast,  do 
you!"  snickered  the  boatswain  coming  up  and  wit- 
nessing their  degradation.  "Had  to  take  it  right 
out  o'  the  medicine  chest,  didn't  you?" 

"Oh,  Ay  gif  a  tarn  for  her ! ' '  said  a  burly  Swede. 
"I  don'd  bin  shippin'  mit  no  vooman  captains  no 
more  no  how." 


SOME  ODD  SHIPMATES  65 

But  Mrs.  Thrale  had  her  gentle  moments.  She 
was  a  creature  of  quick  sympathy.  Once  when  a 
sailor  had  been  standing  for  hours  out  on  the  bow- 
sprit splicing  a  footrope  and  had  returned  to  the 
forecastle  drenched  and  chilled,  she- went  forward 
with  a  bottle  and  glass  in  her  hand. 

"Here's  some  elderberry  wine/7  she  said  pour- 
ing out  a  glassful.  "Drink  it — it's  powerful  warm- 
ing. And  if  you  sailors  never  drank  anything 
stronger  you  might  have  a  dollar  or  two  left  by 
the  end  of  the  year. ' ' 

And  it  did  prove  warming,  not  only  to  the  blood, 
but  to  the  heart  of  the  man  who  held  Mrs.  Thrale 
in  high  respect  thereafter  and  would  hear  no  cyni- 
cal word  concerning  her. 

Day  after  day,  over  the  brightly  flashing  brine, 
upon  which  the  summer  sun  played  resplendently ; 
day  after  day,  while  the  schooner  ploughed  down 
the  long  gleaming  swells  and  up  again  to  their 
liquid  heights,  they  kept  the  yacht  in  sight,  and  in 
the  night  saw  her  twinkling  lights  play  over  the 
sea,  flashing  on  the  wave-tips  and  running  along 
the  water  in  whimsical  vagrancy.  What  deepened 
Tevis'  now  well-fixed  impression  of  some  sort  of 
understanding  between  the  masters  of  the  two  ves- 
sels was  the  fact  that,  once  or  twice  at  night,  when 
the  Thetis9  Captain  must  have  feared  she  was  los- 
ing the  schooner,  her  searchlight  gleamed  sudden- 
ly out  of  the  dark.  Once  when  it  lighted  up  the 
somber  old  sails  with  *s?M  refulgence,  Tevis 


66  THE     SEA    HAWK 

caught  sight  of  the  lone  figure  of  Mrs.  Thrale  de- 
tached against  the  house.  She  was  standing  astern 
her  glass  to  her  eyes,  staring  seaward,  through  the 
night,  and  as  he  looked  at  her  he  could  not  dismiss 
from  his  mind  the  idea  that  she  was  a  sinister  sea 
hawk,  peering  at  her  prey. 

He  wanted  to  go  to  her  and  plump  out  a  question 
as  to  the  meaning  of  this  odd  chase.  Were  they 
to  follow  the  yacht  all  the  way  to  the  islands  ?  And 
had  she  anything  to  do  with  their  own  mission  of 
salvage  1  He  thought  many  times  about  the  wreck- 
ing apparatus  and  the  electrical  outfit  and  what 
the  boatswain  had  let  out  in  his  unguarded  mo- 
ment. He  speculated,  too,  upon  his  futile  attempts 
to  elicit  something  from  the  crew  about  the  wreck- 
ing things  they  were  supposed  to  have  shipped,  but 
evidently  had  not  shipped.  Never  had  he  talked 
with  such  a  lot  of  lunkheads.  They  knew  nothing 
about  the  stuff  stowed  in  the  hold.  It  might  have 
been  full  of  tan  bark  or  waste  paper  for  all  they 
knew — or  would  tell.  But  as  he  now  approached 
Mrs.  Thrale  in  the  darkness,  she  turned  upon  him 
sharply  and  said  that  the  first  mate  was  looking 
for  him  for  a  game  of  euchre. 

"Not  that  I  approve  of  cards,"  she  added,  with 
one  of  her  Puritan  touches.  " They're  a  device  of 
the  devil.  But  if  you  don't  play  on  Sundays  or  for 

money "  and  she  turned  again  abruptly, 

walked  over  to  the  binnacle  and  looked  at  the  com- 
pass with  a  fixed  stare.  He  went  below  to  seek  the 
mate,  a  very  decent  chap  named  Flamel,  with 


SOME  ODD  SHIPMATES  67 

whom  lie  had  become  acquainted  before  they  left 
port.  Flamel  was  a  florid-faced,  blond-mustached, 
well  set  up  man  of  thirty,  who  talked  as  though  he 
had  found  this  globe  a  very  pleasant  planet.  He 
was  sitting  under  a  lamp  at  the  side  of  the  ta'ble 
when  Tevis  entered  the  cabin. 

"  Aren't  we  heading  nearer  south  than  the  regu- 
lar course  for  the  islands?"  he  asked  the  mate. 
"I  thought  I  saw  some  shore 'lights  just  now," 
which  was  the  truth,  for  the  lights  'had  glowed 
dully  in  the  west  and  the  schooner  was  assuredly 
not  far  from  the  Californian  coast. 

"Must  have  been  some  ship,"  said  Flamel. 

"No,"  he  returned  positively,  to  see  what  the 
man  would  say,  "the  lights  of  the  Thetis  were  due 
south.  She  was  playing  her  searchlight  on  us." 

"You  must  be  pretty  smart  to  'know  the  names 
of  all  the  steamers  we  run  in  sight  of,"  he  said 
laughingly  and  evasively,  while  he  fingered  the 
cards.  t  i  Shall  I  leave  in  the  joker  ? ' ' 

"Speaking  of  the  Thetis,"  began  Tevis  as  he 
cut  the  cards. 

"I  wasn't  speaking  of  the  Thetis."  He  dealt 
out  the  hands  swiftly.  "Diamonds  are  trumps." 

"I  was  going  to  say  she  left  port  just  a  little 
ahead  of  us,  and " 

"Yes,  the  Thetis  is  a  dandy  boat.  Clyde-built, 
all  steel  except  her  trimmings.  I  saw  her  in  the 
bay.  She  can  go  over  twenty  knots  they  say.  Ah- 
ha!  The  first  trick  is  mine." 


68  THE     SEA    HAWK 

Tevis  could  not  get  Flamel  to  talk  about  the 
yacht  any  further.  He  did  not  put  his  mind  to  the 
game,  lost  carelessly  and  turned  in  early. 

Next  morning  he  rose  betimes.  There  was  the 
The tis  within  a  mile,  standing  clean  white  above 
the  dark  blue  of  the  sea.  But  little  smoke  was 
coming  from  her  funnel;  she  was  moving  slower 
than  ever.  Over  to  the  west  the  brown  hills  of  the 
coast  stood  out  plainly.  He  asked  one  of  the  idling 
hands  what  port  the  vessel  was  near. 

1 1 Looks  like  San  Diego,"  said  the  man  unhesi- 
tatingly. "Yes,  there's  Coronado  over  there." 

A  little-  later  he  chanced  in  at  the  Captain's 
cabin.  Thrale  was  not  there,  but,  spread  out  upon 
his  table,  was  a  chart  on  which  the  course  was 
marked.  The  red  line  ended  at  the  mouth  of  San 
Diego  Bay.  What  about  the  islands?  Perhaps 
that  course  would  be  laid  later.  But  the*  Thetis? 
She  was  evidently  not  for*  the  islands  either?  It 
was  baffling.  He  was  impatient  to  know  the«mean- 
ing  of  it  all. 

They  made  no  headway  that  morning  nor  did  the 
steamer.  She  idled  up  and  down  or  lay-to  off  the 
harbor  mouth.  In  the  afternoon  she  steamed  into 
port,  while  the  Tropic  Bird  hovered  a  little  farther 
off  shore.  Indeed,  Tevis  feared  at  one  time  that 
she  was  putting  out  to  sea  on  her  long  voyage  to 
the  islands  and  that  he  had  seen  the  last  of  the 
yacht.  He  had  devoutly  hoped  they  might  be  going 
into  port,  too,  for  then  he  might  see  Hazel  again. 


SOME  ODD  SHIPMATES  69 

But  after  a  long  tack  to  the  west,  the  schooner 
veered  north  and  then  stood  over  toward  the  shore. 

The  sun  blazed  redly  down  into  the  western  sea. 
It  was  a  glorious  evening  with  a  light  wind  and  a 
long  glassy  swell.  The  schooner's  sails  slatted  idly 
as  she  lazed  along.  There  was  an.  air  of  expect- 
ancy aboard,  eager,  but  quiet.  Mrs.  Thrale  was 
on  deck,  with  the  Captain,  and  the  two  studied  the 
landward  sweep  of  sea  as  a  hunter  studies  a  hill 
for  deer. 

It  came  on  toward  dusk.  There  were  the  lights 
and  the  smoke  of  a  steamer  coming  out  of  the  har- 
bor in  the  growing  breeze.  She  sailed  directly 
toward  the  Tropic  Bird,  the  sea  getting  rougher  as 
she  neared  and  the  wind  coming  squally  and  un- 
certain. Tevis  saw  Mrs.  Thrale  give  an  impatient 
signal  to  her  husband. 

"Keady  about !"  he  called. 

The  schooner's  head  was  laid  due  west.  The 
mainsail  was  close-reefed,  and  the  foresail 
shortened  a  bit.  Looking  astern,  Tevis  saw  the 
Thetis  steaming  toward  them  in  the  gathering 
darkness.  She  was  now  well  out  of  the  harbor  and 
not  more  than  half  a  mile  away.  The  sky  was 
somewhat  overcast,  so  that  the  stars  shone  out  only 
now  and  again  and  there  were  shoreward  streaks 
of  mist  through  which  the  street  lights  of  San 
Diego  shot  forth  as  they  were  turned  on  for  the 
night. 

He  was  looking  fondly  toward  the  oncoming 
Thetis,  when,  of  a  sudden,  he  saw  a  great  cloud  of 


70  THE    SEA    HAWK 

smoke  puffing  out  from  amidships,  a  little  forward 
of  her  funnel.  At  the  same  time  he  saw  a  bustle 
aboard  the  yacht ;  there  was  a  running  to  and  fro 
and  the  quickly  clanging  strokes  of  a  bell. 


CHAPTER  VI 

WHAT  HAPPENED  IN   THE  FOG 

THE  Thetis  was  afire!  Of  all  this  smoke  and 
confusion  there  could  be  no  other  meaning.  And 
Hazel — she  was  in  peril !  The  thought  sent  Tevis 
excitedly  up  and  down  the  deck.  Of  a  sudden  she 
had  become  more  dear  and  necessary  to  him  than 
ever.  What  could  he  do  to  help  her. 

There  was  not  much  commotion  aboard  the 
Tropic  Bird.  She  was  ordered  about  again  and 
lay-to  in  the  freshening  wind.  Two  of  her  boats 
were  lowered — the  gig  and  the  dingey — and  were 
bobbing  astern,  but  not  manned.  It  was  evident 
that  the  Captain  was  not  greatly  concerned  about 
the  lives  of  those  aboard  the  yacht.  But  as  for 
Tevis  he  was  fairly  beside  himself.  A  fever  of 
anxiety  consumed  him  as  he  looked  toward  the 
great  cloud  of  smoke  that  now  enveloped  the 
Thetis  and  then  stared  agrily  at  the  silent  Thrale, 
who  stood  upon  the  after-deck,  with  his  wife,  in 
irritating  deliberation.  Once  the  wildly  impatient 
young  man  came  near  and  caught  the  look  in  Mrs. 
Thrale  ?s  eyes.  If  the  glare  of  the  sea  hawk  had 
blazed  from  them  before,  it  burned  with  treble 
intensity  now.  Of  pity,  of  concern  for  the  threat- 

71 


72  THE     SEA    HAWK 

ened  lives  aboard  the  burning  boat,  there  was  not 
a  gleam;  but  of  avid  fierceness,  there  was  a  great, 
rampant  force.  A  little  of  this  force  seemed  to 
impart  itself  to  the  Captain,  but  only  a  little. 

6  '  Well,  they'll  be  moving  out  of  their  floating 
palace  now,  I  guess,  '  '  remarked  the  woman  with  a 
sneer.  "Yes;  there  goes  the  boats  —  pretty  well 
loaded,  too  —  pulling  ashore.  He  must  have  ordered 
'em  all  off.  Going  to  make  quite  a  fire,"  she  re- 
marked, hardly  turning  her  eyes.  "Looks  like  it 
was  down  in  the  hold.  May  be  it's  their  trunks 
burning  now.  Suppose  they  carry  forty  of  'em 
on  a  cruise  like  that.  It  's  a  great  thing  to  be  rich.  '  ' 

"Captain,"  cried  Tevis,  with  devouring  impa- 
tience, "aren't  you  going  to  do  something  for  the 
poor  souls  aboard  that  yacht!  Aren't  you  going 
to  send  -  " 


're  standing  by  to  see  what  we  can  do  for 
'em,  '  '  explained  the  Captain,  rather  hazily.  "  I  Ve 
got  a  couple  of  boats  lowered.  Maybe  I'll  be  going 
over  before  long." 

"Will  you  let  me  take  one  of  the  boats,"  he 
urged  excitedly.  i  1  1  want  to  do  something  myself 
if  lean." 

"Let  the  boats  alone,"  snorted  Mrs.  Thrale. 
"We'll  take  care  of  the  boats." 

"But  you  might  -  " 

"Oh,  save  your  breath  for  the  doldrums,"  she 
rasped  forth.  "Look  there,  Captain!  She's  blaz- 
ing up,  ain't  she?" 

A  red  glare  rose  amid  the  smoke.    The  eager 


WHAT  HAPPENED  IN  THE  FOG       73 

young  man  waited  no  longer.  Running  astern  he 
pulled  in  the  painter  of  the  dingey,  dropped  lightly 
into  the  boat,  and  rowed  away  like  mad. 

"Hey  there!  Stop!  Bring  her  back!"  yelled 
the  voice  of  the  mate,  who  had  returned  to  his 
post.  But  Tevis  paid  no  heed  and  was  soon  a  good 
distance  off  in  the  fog.  He  could  see  only  a  little 
way  ahead,  over  the  waves,  but  before  long  he 
heard  cries  from  the  yacht  or  from  her  boats,  and 
he  was  guided  by  these  sounds.  He  could  no 
longer  see  any  gleam  from  the  fire,  which  seemed 
strange.  The  twilight  was  settling  down  heavily 
with  the  thick  mist.  The  voices  came  less  distinct- 
ly and  then  were  lost  altogether.  He  hardly  knew 
where  he  was  going,  but  of  a  sudden  he  heard  the 
schooner's  bell  clang  out,  and  as  it  rang  quickly, 
again  and  again,  he  kept  the  sounds  well  astern 
and  pulled  forward. 

Evidently  he  had  missed  his  reckoning,  for  he 
did  not  seem  to  be  nearing  the  Thetis.  Where  was 
the  red  glare  of  her  fire  ?  Had  it  died  down  or  had 
the  fog  and  the  smoke  obscured  it?  He  rowed 
fiercely  about  for  a  half-hour  in  search  of  the 
yacht,  and  was  almost  despairing,  when  out  of  the 
fog  he  heard  voices.  He  pulled  hard  in  the  direc- 
tion from  which  the  sounds  came.  As  they  were 
wafted  a  little  nearer  by  the  wind  he  detected 
something  familiar  in  them.  He  yelled  again  and 
again  and  a  big  voice  boomed  back  in  reply.  A 
few  more  strokes  and,  over  the  bow,  he  saw  a 
small  boat  with  a  man  standing  up  in  her  and 


74  THE    SEA    HAWK 

others  sitting  with  motionless  oars,  as  if  listening 
to  his  call. 

"I  say,  my  man!"  roared  the  voice.  " Which 
way  ashore?" 

It  was  Sir  Charles  Walden.  And,  sitting  all 
huddled  up  in  the  stern,  was  Miss  Hazel  Braisted, 
with  a  white  face  under  her  little  cap.  There  were 
four  or  five  men  in  the  boat  beside  the  baronet,  but 
Tevis  did  not  distinguish  Hazel's  father  among 
them.  Of  course,  she  did  not  recognize  him,  and 
he  doubted  if  she  knew  his  voice  when  he  shouted : 

"I  don't  know  the  way  ashore,  but  I'll  take  you 
to  the  schooner.  That's  her  bell  you  hear  over 
there." 

1  'Well,  anywhere  out  of  this  cursed  fog!" 
bawled  Walden.  "Lead  the  way,  my  man.  We 
want  to  get  out  of  this  as  soon  as  God  will  let  us." 

Turning  his  boat  about,  Tevis  headed  toward  the 
schooner.  Her  bell  now  sounded  rather  faintly. 
Suddenly  on  both  sides  of  him  he  heard  more 
voices,  and  then  the  low  deep  note  of  a  whistle 
droned  out  of  the  mist  from  not  far  away.  Was 
the  signal  from  the  Thetis?  She  had  blown  no  dis- 
tress whistles  before.  How  was  it  that  she  was  be- 
ginning to  sound  them  now?  Besides  the  fire  must 
have  gained  upon  her  by  this  time  and  all  hands 
must  have  left  her.  But  no  flame  lit  the  bank  out 
of  which  the  whistle  issued.  It  was  all  very  strange, 
as  of  a  tragedy  going  on  behind  a  lowered  curtain. 
Now  he  was  nearing  the  bell,  for  the  fog-muffled 
note  rose  a  little  clearer. 


WHAT  HAPPENED  IN  THE  FOG       75 

"We'll  soon  be  there!"  he  called  back  encour- 
agingly to  Walden's  boat.  "We'll  soon  reach  the 
schooner. ' ' 

Then  he  listened  for  the  next  brassy  note.  It 
did  not  come.  He  pulled  away,  paused  and  strained 
his  eyes  forward  through  the  mist.  Nothing  but 
the  wash  of  the  waves  about  his  boat,  then  the 
long-drawn  wheeze  of  the  whistle. 

"Where's  your  schooner!"  called  Sir  Charles, 
as  both  boats  slackened,  losing  headway. 

"  I  'm  looking  for  her, ' '  answered  Tevis.  1 1  She 's 
over  there  somewhere." 

' '  Hello,  there ! ' '  cried  a  new  voice  out  of  the  fog, 
coming  from  the  left. 

"Hello!"  replied  Tevis.  "Is  that  the  Tropic 
Bird?" 

"No — one  of  her  boats — going  off  to  the  yacht. 
Are  you  from  the  schooner  f ' ' 

"Yes." 

"Better  pull  along  to  the  yacht  then;  all  hands 
goin'  aboard.  That's  her  whistle." 

The  boat  showed  shade-wily  through  the  murk. 

"But  the  yacht's  afire,"  he  yelled  back.  "We 
want  to  go  to  the  schooner. ' 9 

"Fire's  all  out!"  came  the  reply  out  of  the  fog. 
"Follow  us  if  you're  going  aboard."  The  boat 
loomed  a  little  nearer.  She  was  piled  dangerously 
high  with  luggage  and  there  were  at  least  eight 
men  in  her. 

"The  fire  is  out!    Oh,  good!  good!'  The  fire  is 


76  THE    SEA    HAWK 

out ! '  It  was  Hazel 's  glad  voice  ringing  from  the 
baronet 's  boat.  ' '  Is  she  much  damaged  ? ' ' 

For  a  moment  there  was  a  strange  silence.  Then 
the  answering  voice  blew  out  of  the  fog. 

"No — not  to  speak  of.  Didn't  amount  to  much." 

The  girl  called  out  other  eager  inquiries,  but 
there  was  no  reply.  It  may  have  been  because 
the  gusts  whisked  her  cries  away ;  but  Tevis  heard 
them  plainly. 

His  boat  ran  up  a  long  dark  wave,  with  the 
baronet's  just  astern.  As  they  topped  the  watery 
hill,  a  great  flame  leaped  from  the  sea  not  far 
away.  It  was  volcano-like  in  its  suddenness  and 
it  shot  through  the  mist,  turning  it  to  a  shimmer 
of  red  and  gold. 

"There's  the  fire  again!"  he  heard  Hazel's  des- 
pairing cry.  '  *  The  yacht  is  gone ! ' ' 

Then  the  whistle  moaned  dolefully,  dead  ahead. 

* '  Come  on ! "  shouted  the  men  in  the  schooner 's 
boat.  "Follow  along." 

Bewildered  and  well-nigh  dazed,  Tevis  rowed  in 
their  wake  and  Sir  Charles'  boat  followed  him. 
The  wind  scurried  down  more  briskly  and  the  sea 
kept  rising. 

Presently  dull  lights  glowed  uncertainly  ahead, 
and  out  of  the  fog  stretched  the  low,  white  length 
of  a  steamer,  her  hull,  masts  and  funnel  showing 
ghostlike  in  the  mist-softened  glare,  which  arose 
from  the  other  vessel. 

"Why,  there's  the  Thetis  now!"  cried  Hazel, 
standing  up  in  the  boat  and  waving  her  hand  to- 


WHAT  HAPPENED  IN  THE  FOG      77 

ward  the  steamer.     "And  she's  safe  and  sound. 
But  what's  that  other  fire?" 

Yes;  here  surely  was  the  yacht,  apparently  as 
trim  and  whole  as  ever.  And  the  other  blaze  that 
had  flared  out  of  this  bedeviled  sea — it  could  come 
from  nothing  else  than  the  schooner !  The  flames 
shot  higher  and  illumined  the  night  and  illumined, 
too,  some  of  the  blankness  of  Tevis'  mental  vision. 
He  saw  boats  coming  from  the  blazing  Tropic 
Bird,  full  of  men  and  luggage,  and  other  boats, 
also  loaded  high,  were  being  hoisted  at  the  Thetis9 
side.  And  it  flashed  upon  him  that  a  part,  at  least, 
of  the  plot  was  about  to  be  unfolded.  He  was  soon 
to  understand  the  mysterious  relation  between 
Captain  Dumble  and  the  Thrales — soon  to  know 
the  meaning  of  the  strange  chase  down  the  coast, 
of  the  lying-to  outside  the  harbor,  of  the  fire  which 
did  not  consume  the  Thetis  and  of  that  other  and 
greater  conflagration  which  was  now  licking  up  the 
timbers,  spars  and  sails  of  the  poor  old  Tropic 
Bird. 


CHAPTEE  VH 

HAZEL  CONFRONTS  THE  CAPTAIN 

SIR  CHARLES'  boat  was  hoisted  first  and  Tevis 
had  to  await  his  turn  below  the  davits  in  the  gath- 
ering storm,  so  that  his  craft  was  badly  knocked 
about,  and  once  came  near  side-wiping  the  yacht. 
When  he  reached  the  deck  he  did  not  see  Hazel  or 
Walden. 

Looking  about  the  dimly  lighted  yacht — the  elec- 
trics were  not  burning — it  was  clear  to  Tevis  that 
little  damage,  if  any,  had  resulted  from  the  fire. 
Above  decks  there  was  certainly  none.  It  seemed 
likely  that  the  flames  had  been  confined  to  the  hold. 
Aboard  the  boat  were  all  of  the  schooner's  old 
i?rew,  with  Flamel,  the  mate,  and  others  whom 
Tevis  knew.  He  stepped  up  to  Flamel  who  was 
standing  forward,  giving  orders  to  the  boatswain. 

"Who  is  in  command?"  he  asked. 

* '  The  old  man, ' '  was  the  reply. 

"Captain  Thrale?    Where  is  he?" 

"Up  there  on  the  bridge." 

"Where's  Captain  Dumble?" 

"Gone  ashore  with  the  owner  and  the  yacht's 
crew.  They  got  out  in  a  hell  of  a  hurry.  It  looked 
for  a  time  as  though  the  ship  was  gone." 

78 


HAZEL  CONFEONTS  THE  CAPTAIN  79 

"Who  put  out  the  fire!" 

"  We  did.  It  wasn't  much  of  a  blaze.  I  wonder 
they  didn't  get  it  out  themselves." 

"Captain  Bumble  was  here,  wasn't  he?"  asked 
Tevis  rather  sharply,  for  he  was  filling  out  the 
plot  in  his  mind  as  he  went  along,  and  with  Dumble 
off  the  yacht  when  Thrale  came  aboard,  it  did  not 
work  out. 

"No,  Captain  Dumble  wasn't  here,  nor  any  of 
his  crew,"  Flamel  said  simply. 

"How  did  the  schooner  get  afire!"  pursued 
Tevis. 

"I  don't  know.  I  wasn't  aboard."  Again  the 
averted  gaze. 

While  they  were  talking,  the  yacht's  screw  gave 
a  tentative  grind  and  a  quiver  ran  over  her.  Tevis 
went  to  the  rail.  The  Tropic  Bird  was  already 
burning  down  close  to  the  water.  In  half  an  hour 
the  waves,  which  were  now  running  high,  would  be 
closing  over  her. 

The  Captain — where  was  he?  Tevis  looked  eag- 
erly about.  The  yacht  was  gathering  speed  and 
her  nose,  dipped  in  the  choppy  waves,  was  driving 
seaward.  He  hastened  forward  and  clambered  to 
the  bridge.  Through  the  window  of  the  wheel- 
house  he  saw  Captain  Thrale,  laying  off  the  course, 
while  Mrs.  Thrale  leaned  over  the  chart  table  on 
which  stood  old  Port,  the  white  cat.  He  opened 
the  door  and  the  wind  blew  him  in. 

"Why,  it's  Mr.  Tevis!"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Thrale. 

<  <  Yes— Tevis, ' '  echoed  the  Captain.    <  <  Well,  how 


80  THE     SEA    HAWK 

do  you  like  the  new  ship  1 "  he  said,  trying  to  carry 
off  a  light  air,  though  his  loose  under  lip  was  work- 
ing nervously. 

"Captain  Thrale,"  began  the  young  man  in  his 
hardest  tone,  "I  understand  that  you  are  in  corn- 
man  of  the  yacht." 

"Yes,  sir." 

"How  did  you  get  command  of  her?" 

"Yes ;  you  see  she  was  afire,  deserted — a  derelict 
— and  I  came  aboard,  with  some  of  my  men  and 
put  out  the  fire  and  took  charge  of  her. ' ' 

"And  then  burned  your  own  boat,"  flung  out 
Tevis  in  a  flash  of  inspired  conjecture,  "so  that 
those  ashore  would  think  it  was  the  Thetis  and  you 
could  steal  her.  I  will  tell  you  what  I  think  of 
that — it's  arson  and  piracy.  You  ought  to  be  jailed 
for  it,  and  shall  be,  if  I  live  to  enter  charges 
against  you.  I  demand  to  be  put  ashore." 

The  Captain  smiled  a  sickly  smile  and  said  with 
a  breaking  bravado :  ' i  That 's  all  right,  Mr.  Tevis. 
.But  you've  signed  for  this  cruise,  and  you've  got 
to  go  along.  We  need  you  to  handle  the  electric 
lights  aboard  ship  and  for  the  diving  later." 

"I  signed  for  the  Tropic  Bird,"  was  the  deter- 
mined reply,  "not  for  the  Thetis."  Then  he 
thought  of  Hazel.  "There  is  a  young  woman 
aboard,  the  daughter  of  the  owner,  and  an  English 
gentleman,  a  guest  of  his.  I  found  them  in  a  boat 
that  had  put  off  from  the  yacht  while  she  was  afire, 
and  I  helped  to  get  them  aboard  again.  I  demand 


HAZEL  CONFRONTS  THE  CAPTAIN  81 

that  they  be  put  ashore,  and  that  I  be  put  ashore 
with  them." 

"Oh,  you  do,  do  you?"  sniffed  Mrs.  Thrale,  with 
a  cynical  smile,  while  she  stroked  her  cat.  "I'd 
like  to  know!" 

"I  was  addressing  the  Captain,"  came  Tevis' 
indifferent  reply  to  the  sea  hawk. 

"Sorry,"  said  the  Captain  apologetically,  "but 
I  can't  let  you  land  now.  You  see  we're  headed 
out  on  a  long  cruise.  As  for  the  young  lady  and 
the  Englishman  we'll  take  good  care  of  them." 

"I  think  you'd  better,  sir," — Tevis  brought  each 
word  out  broadly — "that  is,  if  you  take  them  along 
on  your  cruise,  which  I  don't  intend  you  shall  do. 
You  doubtless  have  very  good  reasons  for  keeping 
us  aboard — you  don't  want  anybody  telling  about 
this  affair." 

"Gracious  sakes  alive!"  broke  out  Mrs.  Thrale. 
"I'd  like  to  know!  Now,  sir,  don't  you  think  you 
and  that  young  lady  you're  so  interested  in  and 
the  Lord,  whatever  his  name  is,  are  just  as  well  off 
on  board  this  yacht  as  anywhere!  Ain't  Captain 
Thrale  just  as  good  a  master  as  Captain  Bumble, 
and  ain't  we  got  a  good  crew,  and  ain't  you  on  a 
better  lay  than  ever?" 

"May  I  be  permitted  to  ask,"  remarked  the  con- 
fused Tevis  with  no  little  asperity,  "what  is  my 
lay?" 

Mrs.  Thrale  glanced  at  the  quartermaster  at 
the  wheel. 


82  THE     SEA    HAWK 

t ' Let's  go  down  into  the  Captain's  cabin,"  she 
suggested,  gathering  Port  up  into  her  arms. 

The  three  left  the  wheelhouse,  bracing  them- 
selves along  the  deck.  Tevis  gazed  about  for  the 
Tropic  Bird  and  he  saw  the  Captain  and  his  wife 
looking  for  her,  too. 

" There  she  is!"  cried  Mrs.  Thrale,  with  a  sort 
of  sinister  delight. 

"Where!"  asked  the  Captain. 

"Hull  down,  to  shoreward." 

There  was  a  faint  glow  far  astern. 

"Not  much  left  of  her  by  this  time,"  said  the 
Captain  with  a  sigh,  which  raised  him  a  bit  in 
Tevis'  respect. 

"Less  the  better,"  said  Mrs.  Thrale,  dryly.  "Did 
you  hear  them  tugs  tooting  in  the  fog  back  there? 
They're  out  after  her." 

"Guess  they  won't  find  much,"  remarked  the 
Captain. 

Even  as  he  spoke,  the  glow  paled  to  utter  dark- 
ness. The  Tropic  Bird  had  vanished. 

' ( She 's  gone  clean, ' '  said  the  Captain ;  "  I  knew 
she'd  sink  before  they  could  get  near  her.  They 
won't  pick  up  as  much  as  a  gasket."  He  sighed 
again  very  deeply  this  time,  and  looked  sadly 
across  the  sea  to  where  the  schooner  in  which  he 
had  sailed  on  so  many  voyages  had  gone  down. 

1 ' Oh,  don't  bother  about  that  old  tub, ' '  said  Mrs. 
Thrale,  "with  her  rotten  planks  and  masts  just 
ready  to  drop.  She  ought  to  have  gone  to  the  bone- 
yard  years  ago." 


HAZEL  CONFRONTS  THE  CAPTAIN  83 

No  sooner  had  they  seated  themselves  in  the 
Captain's  room  and  the  cat  had  been  snuggled 
down  into  Mrs.  Thrale 's  lap  than  there  was  a  knock 
at  the  door  and  in  came  Sir  Charles  Walden  and 
Hazel  Braisted.  The  girl's  round  face  was  white 
with  excitement  and  her  black  hair  was  in  beauti- 
ful disarray.  Walden  looked  sullen,  and  then 
stared  hard  in  his  slow  way  at  Thrale  and  his  wife. 
Tevis  was  sitting  in  a  corner  behind  the  Captain's 
desk  and  neither  Sir  Charles  nor  Hazel  saw  him 
at  first. 

"Is  this  Captain  Thrale ?"  demanded  Walden 
in  his  big  voice. 

"Yes,  I'm  the  Captain,"  replied  Thrale  in  his 
little  voice. 

"Then,  sir,"  cried  Hazel,  stepping  forward  in 
lovely  dismay,  her  lustrous  brown  eyes  full  of 
searching  inquiry,  "perhaps  you  can  tell  me  about 
my  father.  Is  he  aboard  the  yacht?  I  can't  find 
him  anywhere.  Did  he  go  ashore?" 

As  she  came  nearer  to  Tevis,  whose  heart  was 
full  of  her  presence,  he  loked  out  of  the  angle  be- 
hind the  Captain's  desk  and  their  eyes  met,  while 
a  little  show  of  warm  color  came  into  the  girl's 
white  face. 

"Oh,  Mr.  Tevis!"  she  exclaimed,  with  radiant 
satisfaction  in  meeting  him  in  that  moment  of  her 
distress.  "I'm  so  glad  you're  here.  You  can  tell 
me  what  I  want  to  know,  I'm  sure, — about  my 
father  and  Mrs.  Poindexter."  Her  dark  eyes  gazed 
appealingly  into  his. 


84  THE    SEA 

" I'd  be  very  glad  to  do  so,  if  I  could,"  began 
Tevis,  "but " 

"He  don't  know  anything  about  your  father  or 
your  lady  friend,"  broke  in  Mrs.  Thrale,  pausing 
in  her  petting  of  Port  and  looking  at  the  girl  with 
a  certain  air  of  hostility,  while  the  Captain  fid- 
geted at  the  desk,  got  up  and  sat  down  again. 
"He's  just  come  aboard  and  hasn't  seen  him." 

"Then,  Captain,"  cried  the  girl  eagerly,  hardly 
looking  at  the  woman  whom  she  evidently  regarded 
as  a  rude  creature,  "maybe  you  can  tell' me  about 
him.  Is  he  aboard  the  yacht  or  did  he  go  ashore  1 ' ' 

Thrale  fidgeted  a  little  in  his  chair  and  looked 
at  her  uncertainly. 

"Can't  you  speak,  man?"  demanded  Sir 
Charles,  looking  hard  at  him  out  of  his  cold  gray 
eyes.  "Why  don't  you  answer  the  lady?" 

The  Captain  faced  the  picture  of  beautiful,  con- 
fused young  womanhood,  and  cleared  his  throat 
apologetically.  Tevis  offered  her  his  seat,  but  she 
did  not  accept  it  and  stood  looking  with  soft  in- 
quiry at  Thrale. 

"My  dear  young  lady,"  the  Captain  stammered, 
"your  father — I  suppose  you  are  Miss  Braisted — 
your  father  isn't  aboard.  He  must  have  gone 
ashore  in  one  of  the  boats." 

"I'm  so  afraid  something  has  happened  to 
him, ' '  said  the  girl,  with  quivering  lips.  i  i  Do  you 
know  which  boat  he  went  in?  He  made  me  go  in 
the  first  one,  and  he  waited  aboard  to  see  if  they 
couldn't  put  out  the  fire.  I  wouldn't  let  the  men 


HAZEL  CONFRONTS  THE  CAPTAIN     85 

row  me  ashore  at  first,  but  made  them  stay  near 
the  yacht  waiting  for  him.  After  awhile  he  called 
to  me  that  the  yacht  must  surely  go,  for  they 
couldn't  get  the  fire  out,  as  the  pumps  wouldn't 
work ;  and  he  ordered  our  boatment  to  row  in.  We 
started,  but  were  caught  in  the  fog.  The  men 
quarrelled  about  which  way  to  go,  while  we  drifted 
about.  Then  a  boat  came  and  another  and  they 
guided  us  back  to  the  yacht.  I  was  surprised  to 
find  the  fire  had  been  extinguished.  I  heard  that 
it  was  you  and  your  schooner  crew  that  came 
aboard  and  fought  the  flames  after  our  men  had 
given  up  the  boat  as  lost.  You  must  have  worked 
very  hard,  Captain,  to  put  it  out, ' '  she  added,  look- 
ing straight  at  Thrale  out  of  her  big,  dark  eyes. 

The  Captain  stared  at  the  flat  top  of  the  desk. 

"Yes,  they  did,"  assisted  Mrs.  Thrale,  stroking 
her  cat  for  inspiration.  "It  was  an  awful  job.  The 
heat  in  that  hold  was  something  horrible.  One  man 
was  nearly  suffocated." 

<  t  Terrible !  Poor  fellow !  I  hope  he  '11  soon  re- 
cover ! ' '  said  the  girl  with  a  sweet  and  ready  sym- 
pathy that  Tevis  felt  was  native  to  her.  ' '  But  my 
father — don't  you  know  anything  about  him?  I 
am  so — so  anxious  to  know  if  he  is  safe. ' ' 

"Oh,  don't  worry,"  said  Mrs.  Thrale,  in  a 
strangely  tender  tone  that  startled  Tevis,  for  it 
was  the  first  he  had  ever  heard  her  use.  "He's  all 
right.  He  went  ashore  with  the  rest,  you  can  de- 
pend on  that.  There  was  nobody  aboard  when  we 
came." 


86  THE    SEA    HAWK 

"Nobody?"  demanded  Walden,  looking  at  her 
incredulously.  "Had  everyone  left  the  yacht ?" 

"Yes,  sir,"  replied  Mrs.  Thrale  shortly,  "they 
had.  We  didn  't  find  a  soul  aboard. ' ' 

The  words  seemed  to  comfort  the  girl.  She 
pressed  a  dainty  little  handkerchief  to  her  eyes, 
and  said: 

"Oh,  no  doubt  he's  safe — he  must  be  safe;  but 
you  know  I  couldn't  help  worrying.  The  fog  was 
so  thick  and — but  the  yacht  is  moving,  and  moving 
fast.  Are  we  going  back  to  San  Diego?" 

Neither  the  Captain  nor  Mrs.  Thrale  was  pre- 
pared for  this  quickly  turned  question.  Thrale 
stared  at  the  desk-top  again  and  the  sea  hawk 
pressed  her  beak  tight  in  perplexity. 

"No;  we're  not  going  to  San  Diego!"  cried 
Tevis  of  a  sudden,  for  he  thought  it  time  to  say 
something.  "We're  putting  out  to  sea.  These 
people  have  seized  the  ship,  and  are  trying  to  make 
off  with  her." 

Hazel  turned,  and  there  was  large  wonder  in 
her  deep  eyes  as  she  gazed  at  him. 

"Is  that  true — how  do  you  know  that,  Mr. 
Tevis?"  she  exclaimed. 

"Yes,"  sneered  Sir  Charles,  "what  are  you 
doing  here  in  company  with  these  pirates?" 

"I  am  here,  as  you  see,"  explained  the  young 
man,  warmed  a  little  by  the  insinuation, '"but  I 
am  no  part  of  the  plot.  I  shipped  aboard  the 
Tropic  Bird  as  an  electrician  to  go  on  a  cruise  to 
raise  a  wreck." 


HAZEL  CONFRONTS  THE  CAPTAIN  87 

"And  instead  of  raising  a  wreck,"  was  Walden's 
fling,  "you're  raising  the  wind  with  these  precious 
pirates  by  stealing  a  valuable  yacht. ' ' 

Miss  Braisted  lifted  her  hand  as  if  in  depreca- 
tion of  these  words. 

"I  believe  Mr.  Tevis  has  been  acting  in  good 
faith,"  said  she,  "though  I  am  surprised  to  find 
him  here. ' ' 

She  said  this  with  a  show  of  friendliness  that 
was  grateful  to  Tevis. 

"I  was  just  demanding  of  the  Captain,"  Tevis 
went  on,  ' '  that  the  yacht  be  headed  back  to  port, 
and  restored  to  her  rightful  owner." 

i  i  Yes ;  to  my  father.  Oh,  how  I  want  to  see  him 
— to  know  that  he  landed  safely."  She  turned  to 
the  Captain  again,  indignation  beginning  to  blaze 
in  her  eyes.  "Captain  Thrale,"  she  said  deter- 
minedly, in  her  clear  round  tones,  "you  have  saved 
the  Thetis,  and  my  father  will  reward  you — 
reward  you  handsomely — but  you  have  no 
right " 

"Merciful  me!  "I'd  like  to  know!"  nasaled 
Mrs.  Thrale,  the  bar  sinister  showing  in  her  fore- 
head, "Now,  young  lady,  you  don't  under- 
stand  " 

"Pardon  me,  Madame,"  said  Hazel,  with  a 
queenly  wave  of  her  hand.  "I  was  speaking  to 
Captain  Thrale.  I  want  him  to  explain  his 
action. ' ' 

'  Yes ;  we  came  aboard, ' '  said  Thrale  slowly,  his 
fingers  fidgeting  with  the  edge  of  the  table. 


88  THE     SEA    HAWK 

came  aboard  from  the  schooner  Tropic  Bird.  We 
found  the  yacht  afire.  All  her  crew  and  officers 
had  gone  off  in  the  boats.  We  put  out  the  fire. 
Then,  as  there  was  nobody  to  take  charge  of  her, 
we  just  put  our  whole  crew  aboard — you  see  we 
had  a  large  crew — and— 

"And  then  you  played  pirate  and  ran  her  out  to 
sea, ' '  was  Hazel 's  firm  and  frigid  accusation. 

"After  setting  fire  to  his  own  schooner/'  de- 
clared Tevis,  "so  that  those  ashore  might  be  mis- 
led into  the  belief  that  the  Thetis  really  burned, 
as  Captain  Dumble  has  doubtless  reported  by  tMs 
time." 

"Oh,  that's  how  the  other  vessel  came  to  be  afire, 
was  it?"  cried  Hazel,  remembering  the  blaze  she 
had  seen  at  sea. 

1 1  Yes, ' '  he  replied,  ' '  that 's  it. ' '  He  felt  that  he 
could  have  told  her  more,  but  refrained,  for  some- 
thing whispered  to  him  that  what  he  suspected  of" 
the  conspiracy  had  better  be  kept  back  for  the 
present. 

"But,  Captain,  even  though  you  saved  the 
Thetis/'  said  Hazel,  "she  doesn't  belong  to  you. 
Of  course  you  must  have  thought  so,  or  you 
wouldn  't  have  burned  your  own  vessel.  The  yacht 
belongs " 

"Land  sakes!"  broke  in  Mrs.  Thrale,  her  eyes 
burning  like  points  of  crude  fire  and  her  forehead 
bar  showing  severely,  "I  guess  you  don't  know 
much  about  marine  matters,  young  lady.  People 
who  sail  in  yachts  generally  don't.  Goodness  me ! 


HAZEL  CONFRONTS  THE  CAPTAIN  89 

Can't  you  see  she  had  been  abandoned  by  her  mas- 
ter and  crew — she  was  a  derelict,  and  anybody 
happening  along,  had  a  right  to  her,  if  they  could 
save  her." 

"Is  that  true,  Sir  Charles?"  asked  the  girl,  pal- 
ing a  little.  ' '  You  understand  law. ' ' 

"Well,  it  may  be  true  about  some  derelicts," 
said  Walden,  "but  in  this  case  the  Captain,  as  it 
seems  to  me,  merely  went  ashore  for  assistance — 
for  tugs  to  put  out  the  fire.  And,  in  any  event,  I 
should  say  the  vessel  must  be  taken  to  the  nearest 
port.  You  are  merely  the  salvor, ' '  he  said,  looking 
at  the  Captain.  "I  don't  remember  what  the  law 
is,  but  don't  you  have  to  put  into  the  closest  port 
and  post  notices  and  that  sort  of  thing?" 

The  Captain  made  an  apologetic  mumble  in  his 
throat,  which  brought  Mrs.  Thrale  up,  standing  to 
her  guns  like  a  veteran. 

"No,  we  don't!"  she  cried  conclusively.  "We 
can  go  to  any  port  we  like.  Supposing  we  wanted 
to  go  to  Valparaiso — we  could  do  it,  and  they 
couldn't  lift  a  finger.  For  all  you  know,  we're  going 
there,  sir,  and  you  are  going  along,  and  this  young 
lady  and  Mr.  Tevis.  So  you  might  as  well  make 
yourselves  at  home,  as  you've  been  doing  here; 
and  that 'sail  settled." 

"Yes — settled!"  said  the  Captain,  with  a  show 
of  firmness. 

'  i  Supper  will  be  served  at  eight  bells  in  the  own- 
er's  dining-room,"  said  the  new  mistress  of  the.' 
Thetis,  rising  and  letting  the  cat  spring  to  the 


90  THE     SEA    HAWK 

floor,  "and  you  can  eat  there  if  you  ain't  too  high- 
toned  to  sit  at  table  with  us.  If  you  are,"  she 
added,  with  mocking  softness,  "I'll  send  your 
meals  to  your  rooms." 

There  were  further  expostulations,  and  de- 
mands, and,  on  Miss  Braisted's  part,  even  en- 
treaties ;  but  the  sea  hawk  did  not  ruffle  a  feather, 
and  the  Captain,  so  ably  backed  up,  was  also  rigid 
enough,  though  they  all  had  secret  hopes  of  pre- 
vailing upon  him  a  little  later,  when  he  could  be 
importuned  alone  and  not  in  the  presence  of  the 
woman  who  so  plainly  dominated  him.  But  there 
were  the  other  officers  and  the  crew.  Tevis  reflect- 
ed that  it  would  be  hard  to  win  them  over,  for  they 
were  doubtless  all  in  the  plot  and  eager  for  their 
share  of  the  loot. 

"You  can  keep  your  same  rooms,"  said  Mrs. 
Thrale  when  Hazel  and  Sir  Charles  turned  de- 
jectedly from  the  Captain's  cabin.  "Your  Jap — 
the  little  fellow  who  was  in  the  boat  you  came 
aboard  in — told  me  which  ones  they  were.  If  you 
don't  mind,  the  Captain  and  I  will  keep  the  two 
large  ones  just  forward  of  yours,  Miss  Braisted." 

The  girl  sighed,  gave  Tevis  a  little  nod,  and 
went  out  with  Sir  Charles.  Tevis  followed  the  re- 
treating figures  aft  and  to  the  door  of  the  saloon, 
with  the  intention  of  saying  something  to  Hazel. 
He  wanted  to  explain  his  position  more  fully  to  the 
young  woman  in  whose  eyes  he  wished  to  be  thor- 
oughly justified.  But  on  going  below,  she  said 


HAZEL  CONFRONTS  THE  CAPTAIN  91 

"  Good-night, "  and  went  straight  to  her  room, 
which  was  just  off  the  saloon. 

"  Beastly  situation, "  grumbled  Sir  Charles,  tol- 
erating Tevis  for  the  moment,  as  there  was  no  one 
else  to  talk  with.  "Perfectly  rotten,  don't  you 
think  ? ' '  He  sank  into  a  big  easy  chair. 

"Tell  me,"  asked  Tevis,  "how  did  you  come  to 
sail  down  here?  You  were  going  to  Honolulu. 
This  is  away  off  your  course.  How  did  it  happen  ? ' ' 

"Blest  if  I  know,"  declared  Walden,  hopelessly. 
"I  thought  we  were  going  down  to  the  islands  di- 
rect, but  here  we  are  off  this  rotten  old  place. 
Yacht  catches  afire,  that  little  old  Yankee  pirate 
seizes  us  and  now  we're  off  for  the  Lord  knows 
where.  It's  a  beastly  country,  that's  what  it  is." 

"I  don't  know  what  the  country  has  to  do  with 
it,"  remarked  Tevis  coolly;  "but  I  wish  you  would 
tell  me  one  thing:  Where  was  Captain  Durable 
when  the  fire  broke  out  on  the  yacht?" 

"Haven't  the  slightest  idea  in  the  world,  my 
man,"  replied  Walden.  "I  was  down  in  Phelps* 
room  with  a  couple  of  other  men  playing  that 
beastly  American  game  of  poker.  It's  a  rotten 
game — I  never  won  a  shilling  at  it  yet." 

It  became  evident  to  Tevis  that  he  would  learn 
nothing  from  Walden  that  would  help  him  to  clear 
up  the  mystery.  So,  with  another  expectant  glance 
at  the  door  through  which  Miss  Braisted  had  dis- 
appeared, he  started  up  the  companion.  Stepping 
on  deck  at  the  last  stroke  of  seven  bells,  he  went 
immediately  to  Thrale's  cabin.  He  wanted  to  find 


92  THE     SEA    HAWK 

out  what  had  become  of  the  luggage  he  had  left 
on  the  burned  schooner.  The  Captain  in  reply  to 
his  questions  said  he  supposed  his  things  were  all 
right.  The  steward  would  know.  He  asked  if 
Tevis  would  not  get  the  generators  to  working 
and  turn  on  the  electric  lights.  The  young  man 
hesitated  reluctantly,  but  when  he  thought  of 
Hazel  and  how 'she  must  miss  the  cheer  of  the 
bright  electrics  he  was  ready  for  the  work. 

He  hunted  up  the  steward,  who  informed  him 
that  all  his  belongings  were  safe  aboard.  They 
were  in  the  between-decks  room  which  Mrs.  Thrale 
had  assigned  to  him.  The  steward  showed  him 
the  room.  It  was  a  very  neat  little  affair,  paneled 
in  oak ;  and  prettily  decorated ;  but  the  former  oc- 
cupant had  left  on  the  walls  some  dazzling  pictures 
of  women,  a  few  not  altogether  proper,  and  his 
taste  seemed  otherwise  lavish,  for  there  was  no  end 
of  tinsel  stuff  and  gimcrackery  stuck  up  around  the 
wainscot.  As  soon  as  the  steward  had  gone,  Tevis 
sat  down  for  a  moment  to  think.  He  had  been  in 
such  a  head-muddling  whirl  for  the  past  few  hours 
that  he  wanted  a  chance  to  clear  up  matters.  That 
fire  aboard  the  yacht!  How  had  the  flames  been 
extinguished?  What  had  been  the  damage?  He 
was  determined  to  learn  these  things,  if  possible, 
though  it  seemed  likely  that  where  there  was  so 
much  mystery,  he  would  encounter  difficulties  in 
his  quest. 

He  opened  a  valise  and  took  out  a  pair  of  old 
overalls,  a  blouse  and  a  cap.  He  would  get  the 


HAZEL  CONFRONTS  THE  CAPTAIN  93 

generators  to  work  and  then  he  would  begin  to  in- 
vestigate. In  his  costume  and  capacity  of  elec- 
trician he  would  have  a  good  opportunity  to  do 
this. 

Summoning  Jim  Beynolds,  the  young  man  who 
was  to  act  as  his  assistant,  he  went  with  him,  down 
the  iron  ladder  that  led  into  the  engine  room.  They 
soon  had  the  generators  burring  away,  and  the 
current  switched  on.  Now  for  the  investigation. 
Tevis  slipped  a  little  electric  lantern  into  the  front 
of  his  blouse,  and  sauntered  leisurely  into  the  fire- 
room  among  the  men.  At  that  moment  there 
seemed  to  be  a  scramble  to  get  up  steam,  for  the 
stokers  were  heaving  in  coal  at  a  lively  rate.  No- 
body noticed  the  electrician.  He  made  his  way 
forward  past  the  coal  bunkers  and  through  a  bulk- 
head door  and  came  to  a  low,  narrow  passage, 
leading  into  the  hold.  Here  in  the  passage  he 
smelled  lingering  fumes  that  came  to  his  nostrils 
as  the  odor  of  burnt  rags.  A  little  farther  along 
his  feet  encountered  a  soft,  soggy  mass  that 
showed  under  the  glow  of  his  lantern  as  old  pieces 
of  wet  sailcloth  and  mattresses,  partly  burned. 
He  kicked  some  of  the  stuff  over  and  revealed  odds 
and  ends  of  unconsumed  tow  and  greasy  waste. 

Here,  then,  was  the  Thetis'  fire,  at  close  range — 
a  clearly  concocted  affair — a  fire  that  was  nothing 
more  than  a  smudge,  though  a  powerful  one  and 
well  calculated  to  create  terror  in  the  breasts  of 
those  aboard  who  were  not  in  the  plot.  It  was  a 
perfectly  safe  incendiarism,  for  not  only  was  the 


94  THE    SEA    HAWK 

floor  of  iron,  but  the  side  walls,  too.  Tevis  kicked 
over  some  more  of  the  half-consumed  stuff.  Un- 
derneath it  and  a  little  way  up  the  sides  he  found 
some  large  sheets  of  asbestos.  The  whole  mass 
of  smudge  stuff  might  have  burned  quite  merrily 
without  danger  to  the  yacht.  With  that  bulkhead 
door  leading  to  the  boiler  room  closed,  and  the 
hatches  ajar  and  pouring  forth  a  dense  volume 
of  smoke,  the  fire  panic  could  have  been  spread  to 
the  engine-rooms,  from  the  deck,  and  no  one  below 
need  be  let  into  the  secret.  Two  of  the  yacht's  men, 
entering  from  the  forward  hatch,  could  have  ar- 
ranged the  whole  job,  and  one  man  with  a  few 
buckets  of  water  could  speedily  have  extinguished 
the  smudge  in  the  passage. 

It  was  now  clear  that  an  honest,  though  unwit- 
ting attempt  to  extinguish  the  fire  could  have  been 
made  by  the  men  of  the  yacht,  who  might  have  sent 
streams  of  water  from  the  fire  hose  into  the  smok- 
ing hold,  without  once  wetting  the  smoldering  stuff 
in  the  little  nook  of  a  passage,  and  then  have  de- 
sisted without  suspicion  when  Captain  Dumble  had 
ordered  them  away,  telling  them  their  efforts  were 
useless. 

But  the  red  glare?  How  was  that  to  be  account- 
ed for?  It  came  from  the  deck  and  could  have 
been  seen  by  the  crew,  very  few  of  whom  were 
probably  taken  into  the  conspiracy.  Yes,  but  when 
did  the  glare  break  forth?  Probably  not  until 
everybody  but  the  Captain  and  his  confederates 
had  left  the  vessel.  A  safe  and  not  too  pyrotech- 


HAZEL  CONFRONTS  THE  CAPTAIN  95 

nic  blaze  could  easily  have  been  made  by  the  burn- 
ing of  a  mixture  of  red-and-yellow  fire,  from  the 
iron  top  of  a  hatch. 

Shutting  the  bulkhead  door  behind  him,  Tevis 
stepped  over  the  mass  of  smudge  stuff  in  the  pas- 
sage and  peered  from  an  open  doorway  into  the 
hold,  the  floor  of  which  was  a  few  steps  down  from 
the  alleyway.  Flashing  his  lantern  into  the  dark 
little  room,  he  looked  searchingly  about.  He  was 
now  well  down  in  the  bottom  of  the  yacht,  where 
the  angle-iron  ribs  and  braces  of  her  lower  waist 
showed  out  roughly  and  yet  he  could  see  no  water, 
only  a  little  suggestion  of  dampness  here  and 
there.  About  him  loomed  huge  packing-cases  and 
crates,  and  without  looking  very  closely  at  these, 
he  made  sure  in  a  moment  that  among  them  were 
the  very  ones  that  had  been  shipped  from  his  old 
shop  in  Oakland.  They  contained  the  wires  and 
electric  fixtures,  and  those  others  doubtless  held 
the  diving  dresses,  hose  and  pumps.  He  passed 
his  hand  over  his  forehead  in  dazed  perplexity  and 
then  it  came  to  him  suddenly  and  with  the  certainty 
of  perfect  conviction,  that  the  boatswain  was  right 
in  his  first  unguarded  statement  that  the  electric 
outfit  and  diving  apparatus  had  never  been  aboard 
the  Tropic  Bird.  It  was  clear  now  that  they  had 
all  been  stowed  in  the  yacht's  hold  before  leaving 
port.  One  thing  seemed  plain  enough — their  pres- 
ence here  was  a  part  of  the  very  peculiar  plan, 
whatever  it  was,  concocted  by  Captain  Thrale  and 
Captain  Dumble.  It  was,  he  felt  sure,  a  plan  ar- 


96  THE    SEA    HAWK 

ranged  for  a  consideration  and  was  doubtless  un- 
known to  the  owner  of  the  yacht. 

Just  as  he  was  leaving  the  hold-alley,  with  his 
lantern  tucked  into  his  blouse,  Tevis  saw  the  boat- 
swain and  another  man  coming  from  the  engine- 
room.  He  dodged  in  among  the  coal  bunkers  and 
waited  until  they  had  passed  him.  The  boatswain 
remained  by  the  bulkhead  door,  while  the  other 
man  gathered  up  the  fragments  of  the  sail-cloth, 
mattresses,  and  other  material  and  took  them  into 
the  hold.  Then  the  boatswain  followed,  and  soon 
Tevis  heard  him  call  out,  " Hoist  away!" 

The  tell-tale  stuff  was  being  removed  through 
the  hatchway  to  be  thrown  overboard  in  the  night. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

MRS.  THBALE  IN  A  NEW  SETTING 

LEAVING  the  lower  deck,  Tevis  hastened  to  his 
room,  got  out  some  clean  things  and  made  himself 
ready  for  dinner,  hoping  all  the  while  that  Hazel 
Braisted  would  be  there,  yet  somehow  doubting  it. 
He  was  burning  to  see  her,  for  there  were  many 
things  he  wanted  to  discuss  with  her,  and  his  heart 
assured  him  that  he  would  not  be  unwelcome  to 
her  presence,  nor,  indeed,  to  her  confidence.  He 
looked  into  the  saloon  on  his  way  to  join  the 
Thrales  at  dinner,  but  she  was  not  there,  nor  did 
he  see  the  baronet. 

Although  he  felt  himself  a  pressed  man  aboard 
the  steamer  and  was  still  sore  under  the  indignity 
of  it,  Tevis  had  cooled  down  to  a  somewhat  politic 
state,  for  he  felt  that,  for  the  time,  there  was  more 
to  be  gained  by  quiet  concession  than  by  kicks. 

He  was  in  this  new  mood  when,  in  the  richly  dec- 
orated dining-room,  he  met  Mrs.  Thrale,  in  her 
new-found  state.  There,  too,  was  the  Captain, 
looking  a  little  uncomfortable  in  all  the  luxury  of 
the  place,  but  neither  Miss  Braisted  nor  Sir 
Charles  was  present.  Mrs.  Thrale  was  closely 
examining  the  china  and  cut  glass  wedged  into  the 

97 


@8  THE     SEA    HAWK 

racks  of  a  pretty  sideboard,  and  Thrale  was  trying 
to  follow  her  explanation. of  them,  which  was  some- 
what misleading.  Despite  the  discomfort  of  his 
new  position,  the  Captain  managed  a  look  of  quiet 
mastery  when  he  gazed  about  under  the  soft  elec- 
tric lights.  He  even  braved  forth  in  a  little  pleas- 
antry. 

" Don't  this  beat  schooner  life  by  a  few  knots?" 
he  asked,  waving  his  hand  toward  the  highly  dec- 
orated panels,  representing  hunting  scenes  and 
shepherdesses  with  their  flocks. 

"All  handpainted,  too,"  said  Mrs.  Thrale.  "And 
the  china  and  cut  glass — it's  grand!" 

"Did  they  leave  the  silver?"  asked  Thrale 
abruptly. 

"A  little,  not  much;  but  there's  plenty  plated 
ware.  And  you  ought  to  see  the  linen — napkins  as 
big  as  pillow  slips,  and  the  table's  solid  mahogany. 
Yes,"  she  said,  turning  to  Tevis,  "there's  every- 
thing you  can  think  of,  all  over  the  ship.  Two 
pianos,  one  that  goes  by  machinery.  No  end  of 
books  and  magazines  in  the  library.  And  you 
just  ought  to  see  the  laundry  and  the  big  kitchen 
range,  and  the  copper  pans,  and  the  ice  plant  and 
the  cold-storage  room,  and  the  bath-rooms,  with 
their  solid  marble  tubs  and  white  tiles,  and  the 
owner's  and  guests'  rooms,  all  in  bird's-eye 
maple.  Mine  and  Miss  Braisted's  are  lined  with 
silk,  and  there's  full-length  mirrors.  And  the 
beds,  they're  all  the  finest  curled  hair — that  is,  on 
this  deck;  not  for  the  hands,  of  course. 


MRS.  THRALE  IN  A  NEW  SETTING     99 

"What  are  you  going  to  do  with  Miss  Brais- 
ted?"  asked  Tevis,  getting  back  to  what  was  to 
him  the  main  point  of  interest  in  the  situation. 
"Aren't  you  going  to  let  her  go  ashore?  You 
could  put  in  at  San  Pedro,  if  you. don't  want«to  go 
back  to  San  Diego." 

"Oh,  we'll  think  about  that  later,"  said  Mrs. 
Thrale.  i  '  You  and  I  and  the  Captain  are  going  to 
have  a.  little  supper  here  and  talk  things  over.  I  Ve 
ordered  a  nice  steak  and  fried  potatoes  and  there's 
some  lovely  celery  and  lettuce-and-tomato  salad. 
The  Captain  loves  salad. ' ' 

It  was  astonishing  how,  in  such  a  short  time,  the 
former  mistress  of  the  sordid  little  schooner  had 
acquainted  herself  with  everything  aboard  the 
magnificent  yacht,  down  to  the  minutest  details. 
If  she  had  taken  pride  in  her  fleckless  marine 
housekeeping  before,  she  fairly  glowed  with  it  now. 

They  sat  down  at  the  big  round  table,  with  its 
clean,  white  cover  and  sparkling  glass  and  cut- 
lery, Mrs.  Thrale  confidently,  the  Captain  uncom- 
fortably, and  Tevis  just  a  bit  morose. 

"Miss  Braisted  and  the  lord  ain't  coming  to 
dinner  to-night,"  said  Mrs.  Thrale.  "But  we'll 
have  'em  to  meals  regular  after  this,  I  guess,  and 
you,  too,  Mr.  Tevis.  Where  is  that  buzzer?"  She 
was  feeling  about  on  the  rug  with  her  foot. ' t  There, 
I  guess  I  struck  it." 

A  door  swung  open  from  the  pantry  and  in  came 
the  little  Japanese  servitor,  silent  and  stiff  in  his 
white  jacket. 


100  THE    SEA    HAWK 

"Yo What's  your  name?"  puzzled  Mrs. 

Thrale. 

"Yokio,  ma'am,"  said  the  Japanese. 

"Oh,  it's  too  outlandish  and  I'll  always  be  for- 
getting rt,"  said  she  impatiently.  "I  think  I'll 
call  you  Charley.  Charley,  bring  the  steak  right 
in  and  the  potatoes  and  things." 

The  Jap,  who  was  evidently  pleased,  with  this 
new  cognomen,  breathed  through  his  teeth  in  the 
hissing  inspiration  which  is  the  sign  of  great  re- 
spect on  the  part  of  the  menials  of  his  race  toward 
their  masters,  and  was  otherwise  as  deferential  as 
he  could  possibly  have  been  to  the  yacht's  million- 
aire owner.  Soon  the  meal  was  served.  The  Cap- 
tain tucked  the  corner  of  his  big  napkin  into  his 
collar  and  attacked  the  steak  with  the  carving 
knife,  as  if  he  were  harpooning  a  shark. 

"For  the  land  sake,  Captain  Thrale!"  cried 
his  wife,  "put  down  that  knife  and  fork." 

"What's  the  trouble?"  asked  her  husband  in  his 
deprecating  way. 

"Why,  ain't  you  going  to  ask  the  blessing?  I 
guess  we  ain't  got  too  high-toned  for  that,  have 
we  ?  I  'd  like  to  know ! ' ' 

"I  thought — "  began  the  Captain;  and  Tevis 
pursued  his  mental  logic:  Aboard  a  stolen  ship, 
grace  before  meat  seemed  out  of  place.  But  he 
bent  his  head,  and  so  did  Mrs.  Thrale  and  Tevis — 
she  very  low  and  reverently — and  mumbled  the 
words.  Then  he  harpooned  his  steak  again  and 
was  soon  eating  voraciously  and  swallowing  cup- 


MRS.  THRALE  IN  A  NEW  SETTING    101 

ful  after  cupful  of  the  tea  which  Mrs.  Thrale 
poured  after  she  had  turned  the  saucers  over, 
looked  carefully  at  their  bottoms  and  held  them  up 
to  the  light. 

When  the  Captain  and  Tevis  leaned  back  in  their 
chairs  puffing  the  perfectos  which  the  Jap  handed 
around  in  a  big  fat  box,  it  seemed  a  strange  situa- 
tion, though  a  very  comfortable  one.  Tevis  had 
never  before  enjoyed  the  ease  and  luxury  of  such 
voyaging. 

"Captain,  we're  going  to  own  a  boat  like  this 
ourselves  some  day,"  said  Mrs.  Thrale,  looking 
about  at  the  shepherdesses,  "and  sail  all  over  the 
hull  world.  There's  nothing  like  a  private  steam- 
er, and  we're  going  to  have  one." 

"Maybe,"  he  replied  through  a  wreath  of  blue 
tobacco  smoke.  "Maybe,  Emily." 

"Why,"  said  Tevis,  just  a  bit  satirically,  "you 
own  this  one,  don't  you?  You  run  her  as  if  you 
did." 

1 '  Oh,  we  're  running  her  all  right, ' '  was  the  wom- 
an's  dry  little  return,  "though  if  she  was  my  yacht 
I  wouldn't  let  men  smoke  up  these  beautiful  pic- 
tures. Still,  as  long  as  the  other  folks  did  and 
you've  got  such  good  cigars,  I  won't  say  anything. 
But  about  what  you  just  remarked,  Mr.  Tevis — 
now  you  don't  suppose  we're  big  enough  fools  to 
throw  ashes  to  windward,  or  to  think  we  can  keep 
her  forever,  do  you  1  All  we  want  of  her  is  just  for 
this  cruise." 

"You  mean,  for  the  wrecking  work?"  he  asked 


102  THE    SEA    HAWK 

innocently  but  looking  straight  at  the  sea  hawk  to 
note  the  effect  of  his  question. 

"Now,  Mr.  Tevis,"  said  she,  resting  her  lean 
elbow  on  the  table  and  looking  at  him  narrowly 
with  her  button-bright  eyes, ' '  does  it  stand  to  rea- 
son we'd  need  this  fine,  expensive  yacht,  burning 
I  don't  know  how  many  tons  of  coal  a  day,  just  to 
got  down  to  the  islands  and  raise  a  little  old  schoon- 
er, worth,  maybe,  three  thousand  dollars?  No, 
we  've  got  a  bigger  thing  than  that. ' '  She  paused 
a  moment  and  looked  toward  her  husband,  who 
smiled  an  uncertain  little  smile.  "You've  been 
making  some  objections,  Mr.  Tevis,  wanting  to  be 
put  ashore,  and  so  on.  My  country !  Do  you  know 
what  you'd  be  throwing  away  if  you  went  ashore 
and  we  got  another  electrician  to  go  on  with  this 
thing!  Why,  you'd  throw  away  a  fortune." 

* t  That 's  what  you  would, ' '  affirmed  the  Captain. 

'  '  Granted, ' '  said  the  young  man,  with  more  than 
a  shade  of  severity.  "You  doubtless  have  some 
profitable  enterprise  in  view,  but  I  ask  you  if  this 
thing  looks  right!  To  begin  with,  you  seize  a  val- 
uable yacht  and  then  you " 

"Hold  on,"  rasped  Mrs.  Thrale,  the  bar  sinister 
deepening  in  her  brow,  and  her  black  eyes  harcTas 
bullets.  "I've  heard  enough  of  that  kind  of  talk. 
Lawsy  me!  She  ain't  stole.  Didn't  you  see  us 
pick  her  up  as  a  derelict  ?  I  'd  like  to  know ! ' ' 

"But  you  knew  she  was  not  fairly  and  regularly 
derelict,"  insisted  Tevis,  his  blue  eyes  flashing. 
"You  were  in  a  scheme — some  would  call  it  a  con- 


MES.  THEALE  IN  A  NEW  SETTING    103 

spiracy — with  Captain  Dumble,  by  which  you  were 
to  gain  possession  of  her  on  pretence  of  a  fire.  You 
are  not  dealing  fairly  with  the  owner  of  the  yacht 
—you  are  running  off  with  his  property,  when  you 
ought  to  be  taking  it  back  to  port. ' ' 

"Oh,  you  don't  under  stand, "  repeated  Thrale. 
"  We're  on  an  even  keel  here.  We  don't  list  port 
or  starboard." 

"Then  why  don't  you  enlighten  me?"  asked 
Tevis  irritably.  "I  don't  believe  you  can  make 
your  share  in  the  affair  look  any  whiter  than  it 
does." 

"Well,"  said  the  Captain,  "supposing  that  a 
very  rich  man — a  big  Wall-street  millynaire — had 
dragged  anchor  in  his  business  and  drifted  toward 
white  water  near  an  ugly  reef.  Supposing  he  finds 
his  affairs  in  such  bad  shape  that  all  he  can  do  is 
to  cut  his  cable  and  make  a  run  for  it,  which  he 
does  and  sails  to  a  port  a  good  many  thousand 
miles  to  westward.  Then  supposing  he  gets  news 
by  wire  that  his  business  is  gone  all  to  smash  and 
he  ain't  got  a  dollar  in  the  world  except  what's 
tied  up  in  a  steam  yacht  on  which  he's  squandered 
a  pot  of  money,  but  which  he  can't  sell  right  out 
of  the  dock  because  she's  so  many  thousand  miles 
away  from  any  place  where  they  buy  steam  yachts. 
He  thinks  about  her  insurance,  don't  he — how  he 
can  get  hold  of  it!" 

"But  Mr.  Braisted  isn't  that  kind  of  a  man," 
protested  Tevis.  "I've  seen  him,  and  I  could  tell 
that  plainly  enough."  He  felt  somehow  that  he 


104  THE    SEA    HAWK 

must  uphold  Hazel 's  father,  though  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  he  knew  very  little  about  him,  merely  taking 
it  for  granted  that  a  man  with  so  charming  a 
daughter  must  needs  be  a  worthy  one. 

"Oh,  that  kind  of  a  man!"  retorted  Mrs.  Thrale 
contemptuously.  "Bidn't  he  try  to  get  Captain 
Bumble  to  burn  her?  The  Captain — now  there's 
an  honorable  man — he  let  on  that  he  would,  but 
the  more  he  thought  about  it  and  how  he  loved  the1 
ship  and  all,  the  more  he  made  up  his  mind  Ee^ 
wouldn't." 

"So  Bumble  pretended  to  burn  her,  after  mak- 
ing a  bargain  with  you ! ' '  said  Tevis,  whose  mintl 
had  been  swiftly  at  work.  "How  much  did  you 
agree  to  pay  the  grafter  ? ' ' 

"That  don't  cut  any  figure,"  was  Thrale 's 
evasion. 

"Well,  let's  say  a  few  thousand.  How  much  is 
the  insurance?" 

"Two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand,"  replied 
Thrale. 

"As  much  as  that?"  Tevis  lifted  his  eyebrows. 

"That  wasn't  too  high,"  insisted  the  Captain. 
i  l  She  cost  him  over  half  a  million. ' ' 

Tevis  reflected  a  moment.  Here,  indeed,  was  a 
strange  explanation  of  the  plot.  He  could  accept 
Bumble's  share  in  it,  but  hardly  that  which  the 
Thrales  had  imputed  to  Braisted. 

"How  was  he  to  collect  the  insurance  money?" 
he  asked.  ' l  The  creditors  would  count  the  policies 
as  an  asset.  They  would " 


MRS.  THRALE  IN  A  NEW  SETTING    105 

1  i  Policies  all  in  his  daughter 's  name, ' '  explained 
the  Captain.  "He  transferred  the  yacht  to  her  six 
months  ago.  His  wife  was  dead.  He  had  only  his 
daughter. ' ' 

"Then  this  yacht  belongs  to  Miss  Braisted.  You 
have  seized  her  property, ' '  declared  Tevis. 

"  I  'd  like  to  know ! ' '  snapped  Mrs.  Thrale.  ' '  Tell 
hhn  how  it  stands,  Captain." 

"Why,  you  know  how  them  things  are,"  said  the 
Captain,  waving  his  hand,  as  if  here  were  a  most 
common  occurrence.  "Transferring  a  ship  that 
way  is  like  taking  a  dollar  out  of  your  right-hand 
pocket  and  putting  it  into  your  left.  It  was  a 
makeshift — a  neat  little  business  trick." 

"And,  of  course,  perfectly  justifiable,"  sneered 
Tevis;  "and  your  part  of  the  affair,  too." 

"So  far  as  we  are  concerned,  it  was,"  Mrs. 
Thrale  gazed  at  him  superiorly  out  of  her  hard 
black  eyes.  "All  we  did  was  to  pick  her  up  after 
she  had  been  abandoned,  put  out  the  fire  that  was 
burning  her " 

"A  smudge  of  wet  sail-cloth  and  old  mattresses, 
with  a  little  red  fire  to  make  a  good  stage  effect," 
was  Tevis '  sharp  and  sudden  thrust — an  unexpect- 
ed rejoinder  that  brought  queer  looks  from  both 
the  Captain  and  his  wife. 

"But  she  was  a  derelict,  just  the  same,"  insisted 
the  woman,  defiantly,  "and  we  went  aboard  and 
manned  her." 

"With  a  crew  brought  down  for  the  occasion," 
said  Tevis  sternly.  "I  don't  see " 


106  THE     SEA    HAWK 

"Derelict!"  the  sea  hawk  persisted,  bowing  her 
unrelenting  beak.  "And  the  kind  of  derelict  that 
don't  count  for  anything  except  to  the  people  who 
save  her.  The  owner  didn't  want  her — he  gave 
up  all  claims  to  her,  didn  't  he,  when  he  set  her  afire 
and  abandoned  her!  We've  done  him  a  good  turn, 
though  he  hasn't  heard  about  it — we  have  saved 
him  from  what-do-you-call-it  ? ' ' 

"Arson,"  supplied  the  Captain. 

"Yes,  arson;  and  he'll  no  doubt  be  thankful  in 
time  when  he  repents  of  the  deed." 

"And  you  needn't  think  the  underwriters  are 
going  to  make  any  kick,"  said  the  Captain. 
' ' They'll  be  too  darned  glad  to  find  out,  after  a  few 
months,  that  the  yacht's  all  right.  I  suppose  he's 
declared  his  loss  already — he  wouldn't  lose  any 
time.  The  underwriters  may  pay  out  the  money  on 
her,  but,  they'll  get  it  all  back  when  she  returns  to 
port.  She 's  good  for  it. ' ' 

"But  they'll  make  trouble  for  you  when  you 
land,"  was  Tevis'  final  objection. 

"Oh,  we'll  just  run  in  to  some  little  California 
harbor,  anchor,  skip  ashore,  and  disappear  after 
we've  sent  a  note  by  a  messenger  reporting  her," 
replied  Thrale  confidently,  "That  will  be  about 
the  way  of  it,  and  nobody  harmed  that  I  can  see. ' ' 

Then  they  disclosed  their  plans,  or  at  least 
a  part  of  them.  These  were  to  run  the  Thetis 
down  to  Mazatlan,  coal  her  and  cruise  up  the  Gulf 
of  California,  along  the  narrow  strip  of  coast 
which  divides  that  long  inland  sea  from  the  Pacific. 


MES.  THRALE  IN  A  NEW  SETTING   107 

There  they  would  make  use  of  the  diving  and  elec- 
trical appliances,  but  to  what  purpose  they  did  not 
at  first  divulge.  Not  being  acquainted  with  those 
waters  Tevis  could  think  of  nothing  but  wrecking 
as  the  object  of  the  cruise.  But  again  and  again 
he  was  assured  that  no  wrecking  enterprise  was 
planned  or  had  been  planned.  They  frankly  ac- 
knowledged that  the  scheme  as  set  before  him  at 
the  first  had  been  a  ruse.  They  would  have  told 
him  of  their  real  intentions  at  the  outset,  they 
owned,  but  he  was  a  landsman,  would  not  have  un- 
derstood and  might  have  balked. 

"Well,"  said  Tevis,  "I  hardly  know  what  to  be- 
lieve now,  after  all  your  falsehoods,  but  I  shall 
insist  upon  being  told  what  there  is  afoot,  and  I'll 
make  my  own  deductions.  It  will  not  change  in 
the  least  my  present  attitude  toward  you,  nor  my 
desire,  I  should  say  my  demand,  to  be  put  ashore. ' ' 

"Oh,  yes;  it  will,"  said  Mrs.  Thrale,  smiling 
confidently.  "  It  's  too  big  a  thing  for  a  young  man 
like  you  to  throw  over  his  shoulder. ' ' 

"What  is  it?"  he  demanded. 

"It's  a  fortune — that's  what  it  is,"  she  declared, 
conclusively — "a  fortune  for  us  all."  He  had 
never  seen  gripping  avarice  shine  from  the  eyes 
of  anyone  as  they  shone  from  hers,  when  she  said 
these  words.  "It's  a  fortune.  It  means  houses 
and  lots  and  a  yacht  like  this,  and  all  kinds  of 
things." 

"Perhaps,"  he  said,  his  curiosity  ranging  high, 
though  he  was  not  tempted  by  her  talk;  "but  will 


108  THE     SEA    HAWK 

you  kindly  tell  me  what  it  is?"  He  looked  at  the 
Captain,  and  out  of  his  mouth  there  shot,  as  it 
seemed  involuntarily,  the  word:  " Pearls!" 

"Pearls?" 

"Yes,  thousands  of  'em — the  biggest,  richest 
pearls  in  the  world. ' ' 

' '  That 's  right, ' '  affirmed  Mrs.  Thrale.  ' '  They  're 
down  there,  and  we  mean  to  have  'em.  And  the 
shell,  too — that's  worth  something." 

"The  shell?"  repeated  Tevis. 

"Yes — mother-of-pearl."  The  sea  hawk's  eyes 
gloated  over  the  prospect. 

"The  banks,"  said  Thrale,  "have  been  worked 
all  up  and  down  the  coast  ever  since  the  days  of 
the  old  mission  padres.  The  Mexican  government 
grants  concessions  to  four  or  five  companies  and 
they  try  to  keep  everybody  else  out,  though  they 
don 't  half  work  their  claims.  The  biggest  boat  any 
of  'em  has  got  ain't  sixty  feet  long,  and  we're  a 
hundred  and  twenty-two  over  all.  But  they  've  got 
nothing  to  do  with  us.  We'll  go  to  work  on  a  scale 
that'll  make  them  slow-going  dagoes  and  China- 
men open  their  eyes,  if  they  see  us." 

"But  they  won't  see  us,"  cried  Mrs.  Thrale, 
with  the  air  of  one  already  in  possession  of  a  great 
prize. 

"That's  what  the  submarine  electric  lights  are 
for,"  owned  the  Captain,  looking  at  the  young 
man  half -apologetically.  "That's  my  idea.  I've 
been  waiting  for  years  for  a  chance  to  do  some- 
thing down  there,  but  I  never  had  the  right  kind 


MRS.  THRALE  IN  A  NEW  SETTING    109 

of  a  ship.  You'll  have  nothing  to  complain  of,  Mr. 
Tevis.  We're  going  to  treat  you  handsomely. 
Your  share  will  be  a  twentieth." 

1  'But  it's  poaching,"  declared  the  young  man. 
"From  what  you  say,  it  looks  to  me  as  though 
Mexico  had  granted  the  same  kind  of  rights  to 
these  pearl  companies  that  the  United  States  has 
granted  to  the  Alaskan  sealers.  You  can't  go 
pearl-fishing  in  the  Gulf  of  California  any  more 
than  you  can  go  seal-hunting  in  the  Bering  Sea. ' ' 

"Oh,  but  it's  different,  entirely  different,"  per- 
sisted Mrs.  Thrale.  "A  seal  is  something  that 
goes  ashore  and  climbs  upon  the  rocks.  The  pearl 
oysters  are  down  at  the  bottom  of  the  Gulf,  and 
you  have  to  fish  them  up.  Nobody  can  give  any- 
body else  a  right  to  anything  that's  down  in  the 
sea  and  stays  there.  If  they  can,  why  then  I  want 
to  stop  sailing  God's  free  ocean  and  go  back  to 
farming  on  the  Penobscot. ' ' 

She  went  on  expounding  her  marine  ' '  rights ' '  at 
some  length.  It  was  all  a  part  of  the  peculiar 
philosophy,  mixed  with  the  strange  Puritanism, 
which  completely  justified  to  her  conscience,  the 
seizing  of  the  yacht  and  putting  forth  to  sea  in 
her,  rather  than  permitting  her  to  go  through  a 
legal  process  for  whatever  salvage  the  courts 
might  have  allowed.  Sufficient  unto  themselves 
were  the  moral  laws  of  Mrs.  Thrale.  Her  uxori- 
ous husband,  always  the  weaker  vessel,  believed  in 
them  and  in  her,  and  she  strengthened  that  belief 


110  THE    SEA    HAWK 

on  occasion,  with  her  sharp  elbows,  her  avid  eyes 
and  her  "I'd  like  to  know/' 

"Yes,  Mr.  Tevis,"  said  the  Captain.  "We'll 
make  Mazatlan  in  about  two  days  and  La  Paz  in 
about  two  more.  Then  for  the  banks.  The  richest 
ones  are  off  the  western  islands.  We  can  gather 
"shell  in  fifteen  fathoms,  where  them  Chinamen  and 
dagoes  can't  reach  with  their  old-fashioned  outfits. 
We  can  work  all  summer  around  them  islands  and 
rot  enough  shell  to  make  us  all  rich  for  life. ' ' 

"And  you're  going  to  come  right  along,"  said 
Mrs.  Thrale,  turning  to  Tevis  sweetly,  i  l  and  so  is 
Miss  Braisted  and  the  lord.  Mighty  pleasant 
sailing  down  there  on  the  Gulf.  Mazatlan — La 
Paz.  You  just  ought  to  see  La  Paz !  Palms,  white 
beach,  bright,  warm  sun — just  like  places  you  find 
in  fairyland." 

"I've  never  been  to  fairyland,"  said  Tevis, 
rather  testily,  though  somehow  he  could  not  help 
feeling  that  the  dominant  force  of  this  strange 
woman  was  bound  to  work  in  its  own  way. 

But  they  had  spoken  of  entering  port  at  Mazat- 
lan and  La  Paz.  This  seemed  a  risky  thing  to  do 
with  a  stolen  steamer.  If  they  did  so,  might  it 
not  be  possible  for  him  to  escape  and  help  Hazel 
ashore,  too?  So,  while  he  talked  with  the  Thrales 
about  the  poaching  enterprise  and  seemingly  fell 
in  with  their  plans,  he  was  quietly  plotting,  on  his 
own  account.  He  saw  a  stout  Mexican  harbor 
master  in  charge  of  the  yacht,  a  few  days  delay 


MES.  THEALE  IN  A  NEW  SETTING    111 

in  telegraphing  and  then  a  quick  return  to  San 
Diego. 

Yet — such  is  the  perversity  of  human  nature 
and  particularly  of  human  nature  in  love — he  saw, 
too,  that  if  the  plot  of  the  Thrales  unwound  as 
they  wished,  he  should  not  be  so  very  miserable, 
for  were  there  not  here  adventure  and  hazard  such 
as  tame,  shore-going  folk  never  dreamed  of — bits 
of  brisk  living  not  to  be  scorned  by  a  man  with  red 
blood  in  his  veins — and,  best  of  all,  for  a  shipmate 
the  most  winsome  young  woman  in  all  the  world  ?' 


CHAPTER  IX 

A  GLANCE  FORWARD 

BUT  even  though  he  was  capable  of  this  healthy 
though  irregular  sentiment,  there  could  not  fail  to 
come  to  him  a  feeling  of  depression  when,  on  the 
morrow,  as  they  steamed  past  the  brown  cliffs  of 
the  San  Benito  Islands,  keeping  well  to  seaward 
and  out  of  the  line  of  the  coasting  trade,  he  saw 
Hazel  Braisted  leaning  against  the  rail  and  look- 
ing wistfully  astern,  with  sadly  drooping  head. 

To  a  beauty  such  as  hers  sorrow  adds  its  own 
charm,  and  in  her  grieving  state  she  was  more 
interesting  than  ever.  He  wondered  what  he 
might  do  to  relieve  and  hearten  her. 

"Good  morning,  Miss  Braisted, "  he  said,  pass- 
ing aft  after  a  hesitating  moment. 

' '  Good  morning,  Mr.  Tevis ! ' '  A  look  of  encour- 
agement came  into  her  face  as  she  turned  to  him, 
though  her  next  words  were  cheerless  enough: 
"Isn't  this  terrible, — to  have  one's  own  yacht 
stolen  and  to  be  carried  off  in  her  without  knowing 
one's  destination?  And  to  think — father  hasn't 
the  remotest  idea  where  I  am,  and  I  don't  know 
whether  or  not  he  and  Mrs.  Poindexter  got  safely 

112 


A  GLANCE  FORWABD  113 

ashore  in  the  boat — it  was  so  foggy  and  squally 
and  all." 

"Oh,  they're  all  right,'7  was  his  hasty  assur- 
ance. "The  boat  could  have  been  rowed  ashore 
in  half  an  hour.  They  were  only  a  little  way  out, 
you  know." 

She  looked  at  him  gratefully  out  of  the  liquid 
depths  of  her  dark  brown  eyes. 

"You  don't  know  how  cheering  your  words  are 
to  me,"  she  said,  brightening  as  she  spoke.  "I 
suppose  it's  awfully  foolish  for  me  to  worry.  I 
couldn't  sleep  all  last  night."  She  glanced  at  the 
patent  log.  "But  we're  getting  miles  and  miles 
away  from  San  Diego.  Where  in  the  world  are 
we  going!" 

He  looked  at  her  and  wondered  if  it  would  be 
wise  to  let  her  know  the  scope  and  purpose  of  the 
voyage.  While  he  hesitated  she  went  on : 

"I  have  a  little  compass  in  my  cabin,  and  ac- 
cording to  it  we  are  sailing  due  south.  I  had 
hoped  it  would  be  north,  for  then  we  might  be 
putting  into  some  Californian  harbor  where  I 
could  telegraph  to  father. ' ' 

While  deciding  whether  it  would  be  best  for  her 
to  know  what  to  her  might  seem  the  desperate  en- 
terprise of  the  Thrales  upon  which  her  yacht  was 
going,  he  talked  quietly  with  the  girl,  in  a  reassur- 
ing voice.  Without  attempting  to  play  the  part 
of  uninvited  champion  or  to  thrust  his  services 
upon  her,  he  wished  her  to  understand  that  he 
would  make  it  the  greater  part  of  his  duty  to  see 


114  THE     SEA    HAWK 

that,  although  she  was  surrounded  by  strange  men 
and  the  strangest  of  all  women,  no  harm  should 
come  to  her. 

He  was  rewarded  by  a  confident  smile  on  the 
girl's  face  and  even  by  a  return  of  some  of  that 
gayety  of  spirit  which  he  had  seen  from  the  first 
was  characteristic.  Still  there  were  recurrent  mo- 
ments of  depression. 

"But  my  father,"  she  sighed  dejectedly — "he 
won't  know  what  has  become  of  me.  He  will  worry 
himself  to  death.  You  don't  know  how  he — he 
cares  for  me.  And  I — I  'm  so  uncertain  about  him. 
Do  you  really  think,  Mr.  Tevis,  that  he  got  ashore 
safely?" 

"Certainly,"  reaffirmed  Tevis.  "He  must  have 
done  so.  And  it's  more  than  likely  that  by  this 
time  it  is  known  that  it  was  the  schooner  and  not 
the  yacht  that  burned." 

"In  that  case,  and  if  he  thought  I  were  aboard 
here,  he  would  be  after  us  in  the  fastest  boat  he 
could  charter,"  said  Hazel.  Then  she  glanced 
down  at  the  fleeing  ferment  of  white  whipped  up 
by  the  yacht's  propeller  and  forward  to  the  long 
low  line  of  water  that  broke  from  her  bow  and 
shook  her  head  sadly.  ' i  No — Captain  Dumble  said 
there  wasn't  anything  along  the  coast  that  could 
overhaul  the  Thetis." 

"But  she'll  lay-to  somewhere  before  long," 
were  Tevis '  encouraging  words.  ' '  Thrale  and  his 
wife  can't  carry  out  their  plans  without  doing 
that." 


A  GLANCE  FORWARD  115 

1 1  What  are  their  plans  1 ' '  asked  the  girl  wonder- 
ingly,  looking  at  him  keenly  out  of  intent,  expect- 
ant eyes. 

Tevis  still  hesitated.  Then,  as  he  saw  no  good 
reason  for  not  apprising  her  of  the  pearl-poaching 
plot,  he  told  her  all  he  knew  about  it. 

' '  Oh,  the  pirates ! ' '  declared  the  girl  at  the  end 
of  the  recital.  "Of  course  they  don't  intend  to 
harm  us — they're  evidently  not  that  kind;  but  to 
think  they  would  steal  my  yacht  to  go  into  a  busi- 
ness like  this!  Dear  old  Thetis!  Why,  you  know 
the  last  time  she  went  on  a  long  voyage  we  had 
six  missionaries  and  their  wives  aboard.  And  for 
the  Thetis  to  turn  pirate !  What  would  Mrs.  Poin- 
dexter  say?" 

Tevis  thought  he  caught  a  reflection  of  the 
glamour  of  romance  in  the  girl's  tone  and  it  oc- 
curred to  him  as  he  recalled  his  own  reckless  feel- 
ing of  the  previous  night  that  to  human  nature,  in 
women  as  in  men,  the  lure  of  adventure  was  some- 
thing rarely  to  be  denied.  Even  while  the  thought 
was  in  'his  mind,  the  girl,  pulling  the  visor  of  her 
white  yachting  cap  a  little  further  over  her  splen- 
did dark  eyes  and  brushing  back  with  her  ungloved 
fingers  a  flutter  of  vagrant  hair,  said  reflectively 
'and  with  a  quiet  smile : 

"I  suppose,  after  all,  there's  a  bit  of  the  Viking 
in  me,  for  don't  you  know,  if  I  wasn't  so  worried 
about  father,  I  shouldn't  greatly  mind  a  voyage 
like  this — my  life  has  been  50  conventional.  If 
one  could  leave  out  the  killing  part,  do  you  think  it 


116  THE    SEA    HAWK 

would  be  so  awfully,  awfully  wicked  to  be  a  pirate? 
Oh,  how  my  Puritan  ancestors  would  groan  on 
hearing  that!  Have  you  talked  with  Mrs. 
Thrale  T ' '  Her  face  took  on  a  piquant  look. ' '  She 's 
a  Puritan  if  ever  there  was  one.  She's  full  of  the 
quaintest  New  England  notions — and  religious! 
You  wouldn't  think  it,  to  hear  her  scold  the  men. 
She  came  in  and  read  a  chapter  of  the  Bible  to  me 
last  night.  It  was  from  the  'Book  of  Job/  and 
really  it  seemed  to  do  me  good.  But  think  of  it — 
a  Puritan  pirate ! ' ' 

She  laughed,  but  her  face  soon  changed  as  she 
gazed  astern,  and  he  knew  she  was  thinking  of  the 
widening  of  the  distance  between  her  and  her 
father. 

As  he  was  leaving  her  to  go  forward  she  said, 
with  a  little  note  of  fervency  that  was  all  her  own 
and  that  was  one  of  her  charms  of  manner : 

"I'm  so  glad  you  have  talked  with  me,  Mr. 
Tevis.  You  don't  know  how  it  has  cheered  me." 

Just  as  he  left  her  to  go  forward  he  saw  Walden 
approaching  them.  The  Englishman  was  smok- 
ing a  cigar  and  muttering  something  to  himself 
about  the  "rotten  service"  aboard  ship  under  the 
new  regime. 

"Just  fancy!"  he  complained,  speaking  more 
to  Hazel  than  to  Tevis,  whom  he  eyed  with  a  shade 
of  distrust.  ' '  I  had  to  ring  for  a  boy  six  times  just 
now  before  he  would  come,  and  what  do  you  think 
the  fellow's  excuse  was?  He  was  polishing  the 
silver  for  Mrs.  Thrale." 


A  GLANCE  FORWARD  117 

"There's  New  England  housewifery  for  you!'7 
said  Miss  Braisted,  laughing.  She'll  polish  it 
down  thin  before  she  leaves  the  yacht." 

"And  when  she  goes  she'll  carry  off  what's  left 
of  it — you  see, ' '  said  Walden  fiercely. 

' ' No, ' '  said  Tevis. '  "I  think  it 's  this  way  about 
Mrs.  Thrale :  She'd  warp  her  ideas  of  marine  mor- 
ality to  borrow  the  yacht  to  carry  out  her  own 
and  the  captain's  schemes,  but  as  for  the  silver, 
she  wouldn't  take  as  much  as  a  souvenir  coffee 
spoon.  She  wouldn't  even  let  her  cat  scratch  one 
of  the  leather  chairs. ' ' 

He  turned  to  go. 

"Hold  on,  Tevis,"  said  Walden.  "You  say 
you're  not  in  the  plot,  and  I  suppose  we'll  have  to 
take  you  at  your  word.  But  would  you  mind  tell- 
ing me  what  all  this  means  f ' ' 

"No;  I  don't  mind,"  replied  Tevis.  He  felt  ill 
at  ease  in  the  company  of  the  baronet.  Still,  as  he 
ran  over  the  plans  of  the  Thrales  he  could  see  that 
Walden,  tremendously  concerned  because  of  what 
was  going  forward,  was  drawn  a  little  nearer  to 
him  as  the  result  of  his  new  knowledge.  The  Eng- 
lishman said  nothing  for  a  time,  but  stood  leaning 
against  the  rail,  thoughtfully  puffing  his  cigar, 
while  Hazel  sat  in  a  wicker  chair,  gazing  astern  or 
glancing  sadly  at  the  patent  log  near  her  elbow 
as  it  reeled  off  the  miles  that  were  dividing  her 
from  her  father. 

In  relating  the  plan  to  Miss  Braisted  and  Wal- 
den it  had  been  glossed  over  in  certain  disagree- 


118  THE    SEA    HAWK 

able  phases  by  the  thoughtful  Tevis,  who  did  not 
wish  to  alarm  the  girl  more  than  was  necessary. 
When  he  left  the  two  to  go  forward,  he  had 
hardly  reached  'midships  before  he  felt  Sir 
Charles'  big  hand  upon  his  shoulder. 

"Look  here,  old  chap,"  said  the  baronet  in  a  less 
haughty  tone  than  he  had  yet  addressed  him,  and 
with  his  large  front  teeth  gleaming  in  a  friendly 
smile.  ' '  I  want  to  know  more  about  this.  Come 
down  into  my  room,  where  we  can  be  alone,  and 
smoke  a  cigar  with  me. ' ' 

"All  right,"  said  Tevis,  "only  I  can't  stay  very 
long  as  I  have  some  work  to  do  on  the  dynamos." 

"What  I  want  to  know,"  said  Walden  as  he  sat 
on  a  little  divan  opposite  Tevis  and  the  two  men 
lighted  their  cigars,  "is  what  kind  of  a  mess  we're 
likely  to  get  mixed  up  in." 

"Well,"  replied  Tevis,  "we  shall  have  to  deal 
with  Chinamen  and  Mexicans — that  is,  if  we  get 
into  any  trouble. ' ' 

"Dear  me,"  said  Sir  Charles,  his  bronzed  face 
taking  on  a  worried  look,  "what  kind  of  trouble 
are  we  likely  to  get  into?  You  see  I'm  relying  on 
you  in  this  matter  altogether.  There's  no  one  else 
to  tell  me  anything.  You  assure  me  you're  not  in 
the  plot  and  I  'm  taking  you  at  your  word. ' ' 

"Thank  you,"  said  Tevis  a  little  dryly,  "but  as 
to  the  kind  of  thing  we're  running  up  against,  I 
can't  tell  precisely,  because  I  have  never  been  on 
a  pearl  poaching  expedition  before,  and  the 
Thrales  are  a  little  vague  in  their  information. 


A  GLANCE  FOBWAED  119 

What  has  been  done  in  that  line,  so  far  as  I  have 
ever  heard,  has  been  by  Mexicans  who  have 
poached  upon  the  pearl  banks  after  their  govern- 
ment had  sold  the  concessions  to  Chinamen.  Of 
course  it's  a  long  way  from  civilization,  the  place 
where  we're  going,  and  these  fights  don't  get  re- 
ported in  the  papers  very  often ;  but  I  remember 
a  lively  one  in  which  eleven  Mexicans  who  had 
been  poaching  on  the  banks  were  killed  by  junk- 
men who  stood  up  for  their  rights." 

Walden  gazed  silently  through  a  port  hole  and 
smoked  thoughtfully  for  a  while. 

"But  doesn't  the  Government  afford  the  pearl 
fishers  any  protection  f "  he  asked.  ' i  Diaz  is  a  wise 
chap,  they  say.  I  should  think  he  would  do  some- 
thing, don 't  you  know. ' ' 

"Even  if  he  did,  that  wouldn't  better  matters 
any  for  us,"  replied  Tevis.  "For  if  the  Thrales 
insist  upon  this  poaching  business,  we'll  be  in 
trouble  on  that  side  as  well." 

"Gad!"  said  the  baronet,  his  big  bovine  eyes 
squinting  with  an  apprehensive  frown.  "If  that's 
the  case  we're  going  to  get  it  both  ways." 

"Yes,  unless,  as  Thrale  says,  we  go  to  work  so 
quietly  at  night  with  our  submarine  lights  that 
they  don't  catch  us  at  it." 

"Oh,  but  a  craft  like  this — they  don't  ever  see 
'em  down  this  way — is  bound  to  attract  attention. 
They'll  watch  every  move  we  make,  don't  you 
think?" 

"No  doubt,"  replied  Tevis. 


THE    SEA    HAWK 

"And  pot  us  like  partridges  from  the  most  un- 
expected places." 

1 '  Very  likely.  The  Gulf  is  patrolled  by  a  cruiser 
— sometimes  two,  so  Thrale  says — and  the  pearl 
fishers  all  carry  rifles  and  revolvers.  Those  junk 
men  are  generally  pretty  good  fighters,  though  I 
don 't  know  what  they  could  do  against  a  crowd  of 
Americans  like  us.  We  have  two  gun-racks,  fully 
stocked,  and  thousands  of  rounds  of  ammunition. 
But,  of  course,  we  might  be  surprised  either  by  a 
gunboat  or  a  fleet  of  junks  and  taken  at  a  disad- 
vantage. ' ' 

"In  other  words,"  summed  up  Wai  den,  with  a 
dubious  shake  of  the  head  and  a  tremor  in  his 
voice,  "if  we're  not  blown  out  of  water  by  the 
Mexicans  we'll  have  all  our  throats  cut  by  the 
Chinamen.  Pleasant  prospect  in  either  case ! ' ' 

' l  Oh,  I  think  if  it  came  to  a  scrap  with  the  junk- 
men," said  Tevis  confidently,  "we  could  stand 
them  off,  and  as  for  the  cruiser  we  ought  to  be 
able  to  show  her  a  clean  pair  of  heels." 

"When  you  look  at  that  miserable  little  bounder 
— that  Captain  Thrale — you  wonder  where  he  gets 
the  pluck  to  go  into  this  thing."  The  baronet 
knocked  the  ashes  from  his  cigar.  i  i  But  of  course 
it's  that  big,  raw-boned  Yankee  wife  of  his — she's 
put  him  up  to  it  and  she 's  keeping  up  his  nerve  for 
him.  Jove,  it's  a  rotten  situation.  She'll  get  us 
into  a  mess,  you  can  lay  your  life  on  it."  He 
paused  a  moment  and  then  added  confidentially: 
"I  wouldn't  care  so  much,  Tevis,  but  for  one 


A  GLANCE  FOKWABD  121 

thing.  It  isn't  known  among  our  friends  on  either 
side,  but  under  the  circumstances,  I  don't  mind 
telling  you — Miss  Braisted  and  I  are  engaged  to 
be  married." 

Tevis'  blue  eyes  turned  away.  To  retain  his 
smile  after  this  definite  confirmation  of  his  fears 
was  hard  for  one  of  his  frank  nature.  Well,  he 
had  had  his  dream  and  it  was  ended.  But  the 
marvel  remained :  What  could  a  young  woman  of 
her  spirit  and  her  ideals  see  in  this  man?  Doubt- 
less it  had  all  been  arranged  between  the  baronet 
and  her  father  and  she  had  consented  to  please  a 
parent  who  would  be  proud  to  hear  his  daughter 
called  Lady  Walden. 

' '  Indeed ! ' '  said  he  at  last,  with  an  effort.  ' '  Per- 
mit me  to  congratulate  you." 

"Yes — charming  girl — very  amiable  parent — 
man  of  considerable  means — stands  high  among 
American  financiers." 

Then  he  had  not  heard  of  Braisted 's  failure! 
Tevis  looked  at  the  man  curiously.  What  would 
he  do  if  he  knew  ?  Should  he  tell  him  1  If  he  were 
a  fortune-hunter,  as  he  suspected,  he  might  desist 
from  carrying  out  his  marital  plans. 

But  he  had  seen  little  of  Walden  and  he  owned 
to  a  distinct  and  it  might  be  unfair  prejudice 
toward  him.  For  all  he  knew,  the  man  might  be  a 
very  decent  fellow.  He  reflected  that  this  must 
be  so,  else  why  should  the  gentle,  cultured  Hazel 
Braisted  have  considered  him  for  a  moment?  It 
was  possible  that  his  heavy  British  way  really  con- 


122  THE    SEA    HAWK 

cealed  a  nobler  man  than  he  had  yet  seen  in  him. 
Then  again  the  Braisted  fortune  might  be  intact 
and  not  even  threatened — he  had  only  Captain 
Thrale  's  hazard  as  to  that — or  rather  Dmnble  's  as 
translated  by  Thrale — and  the  financier's  situation 
might  not  have  called  for  the  sacrifice  of  the  yacht 
for  the  insurance. 

"Well,"  said  the  baronet,  as  Tevis  rose  to  leave 
the  stateroom,  "I  suppose  all  we  can  do  is  to  trust 
to  luck  and  pray  they  mayn't  pot  us  when  we 
get  down  there.  Hope  we'll  get  shunted  off  by  the 
authorities  before  we  get  there.  Maybe  we  can 
contrive  it  somehow  ourselves." 

"I'm  with  you,"  declared  Tevis,  thinking  of 
Hazel's  danger,  "and  I'll  do  what  I  can." 

He  went  below  and  into  his  own  room,  crushed 
by  the  revelation  Sir  Charles  had  just  made  to  him 
and  with  the  hopelessness  of  his  great  and  consum- 
ing love.  He  sat  down  heavily  upon  his  bunk  and 
stared  dejectedly  out  of  the  little  round  window 
upon  the  sunny,  laughing  sea.  The  bright  flash- 
ing waves  mocked  his  heart  and  rode  over  and 
drowned  it  in  the  blind  depths  below. 

After  a  while  he  rose,  put  on  his  working  clothes 
and  cap  and  hastened  below  to  the  dynamo-room. 
Going  to  the  tool-box,  he  took  out  his  wrench,  pliers 
and  brushes  and  quickly  attacked  a  disabled  dy- 
namo, fiercely  twisting  and  threading  the  wires, 
screwing  up  the  contacts,  fighting  like  a  Theseus 
against  the  dragons  that  assailed  him,  while  out  of 
the  wild  flashes  from  the  arcing  brushes,  as  he  test- 


A  GLANCE  FORWARD  123 

ed  the  dynamo,  rose  impossible  visions,  and  out  of 
the  hum  and  burr  of  the  machine  came  a  des- 
pondent note  as  that  of  a  voice  that  mocked  his 
love. 


CHAPTEE  X 

THE  DIFFICULT  ISLANDS 

THE  yacht  lay-to  in  a  little  cove  off  the  island  of 
Espiritu  Santo  in  the  soft  southern  twilight,  roll- 
ing gently  on  a  summer  sea,  with  the  steady  swish 
and  thud  of  the  breakers  sounding  abroad  and  the 
circling,  squawking  sea  birds  making  a  great  to-do 
about  the  galley  refuse.  Miss  Braisted  and  Sir 
Charles  were  under  the  after  awning,  looking 
ashore  and  talking  in  the  desultory  way  which  had 
often  assured  Tevis'  prejudiced  mind  that,  as  an 
engaged  pair,  they  were  wholly  unsuited  to  each 
other. 

He  went  over  to  where  Flamel  stood  on  the 
look  out. 

As  Tevis  approached  him,  the  first  officer  said: 

*  'Well,  here  we  are !  Isn  't  this  a  great  place  and 
a  great  evening!  It's  what  you  get  in  the  tropics, 
though  we're  just  a  little  too  far  north  for  a  peep 
at  the  Southern  Cross." 

"It's  the  kind  of  thing  you  read  about,"  said 
Tevis.  "When  do  we  begin  our  diving?  The 
Captain  hasn't  said  anything  about  commencing 
right  away." 

"Oh,  we'll  be  all  day  to-morrow  getting  the 

124 

M 


THE  DIFFICULT  ISLANDS  125 

things  ready, ' '  replied  Flamel.  ' l  It  will  be  to-mor- 
row night,  I  guess,  before  we  start  to  work.  TKe 
island  looks  like  a  picture  in  the  twilight,  doesn't 
it?  But  wait  till  morning,  and  it  will  show  up 
ugly  enough. ' '  He  pointed  toward  the  land,  which 
rose  gently  from  the  gleaming  white  sands  of  the 
beach  up  to  the  long  saw-tooth  range,  softened 
with  a  purple  glory  that  was  not  of  earth. 

"It's  as  brown  and  dead  and  dry  as  a  desert  at 
this  time  of  year,"  he  went  on.  "Nothing  but 
cactus  and  agaves.  And  it's  the  same  on  all  the 
islands  from  Caralbo  up  to  Angel  de  la  Guarda. 
You'll  hardly  find  a  soul  on  them,  except  probably 
a  few  goat  herders,  though  I  believe  there's  a  band 
of  fierce  natives  on  Tiburon — the  Seris.  They're 
all  pretty  well  rockbound,  these  islands;  and 
there's  no  end  of  shoals  and  reefs  and  nasty  cur- 
rents about  them.  A  good  many  sea-going  men 
call  this  group  the  Difficult  Islands,  though  that's 
not  the  name  on  the  map." 

"The  Difficult  Islands!"  repeated  Tevis.  "That 
doesn  't  sound  very  promising. ' ' 

"Oh,  they'll  be  dead  easy  for  us,"  said  Flamel. 
"We've  got  all  the  latest  charts  and  there's  good 
surveys  of  everything." 

1 '  Will  you  tell  me, ' '  asked  Tevis  curiously,  ' i  why 
we  haven't  made  port  at  Mazatlan  or  La  Paz,  as 
the  Captain  said  we  would?" 

"You  needn't  think  we're  hunting  up  any 
ports,"  said  Flamel,  with  a  dry  little  laugh.  "Ma- 
zatlan wasn't  on  our  sailing  schedule  at  all,  nor 


126  THE    SEA    HAWK 

La  Paz,  for  that  matter.  I  guess  you  can  under- 
stand why." 

"But  shouldn't  we  be  coaling  up  before  long?" 

* l  Coal  f  Why,  bless  you,  man,  we  've  got  enough 
coal  aboard  this  yacht  for  a  liner.  The  bunkers 
are  heaped  high  and  it's  stowed  in  sacks  in  every 
nook  and  cranny,  except  the  after-hold  where  we're 
going  to  put  our  shell.  Even  the  shaft  alley  is  half 
full  of  coal  and  the  lower  cold-storage  room,  and 
the  upper  boiler  room  and  the  trunk  room  and  the 
fish  well.  Besides  we  have  a  good  sailing  rig  and 
can  make  five  or  six  knots  in  a  fair  breeze  without 
the  engines,  if  we  have  to." 

"Why,  I  thought  the  Thetis " 

"She  isn't  the  Thetis;  she's  the  Searcher.  Oh, 
I  see  you're  not  on.  That's  what  we  did  off  Cape 
Tosco  bright  and  early  in  the  morning.  Perkins 
did  the  lettering,  stern  and  bows — he's  a  mighty 
neat  man  with  the  brush.  None  of  the  boats  had 
any  marks  on  them,  nor  the  life  buoys  so  there's 
no  reason  why  we  shouldn't  run  into  port  on  a 
pinch,  though  it's  taking  chances." 

"But  supposing  she  is  hailed  at  sea,  or  boarded 
while  she's  lying  to?"  Tevis  thought  he  had  dis- 
cerned a  large-sized  flaw  in  the  scheme. 

"We  can  run  away  from  anything  in  these  wa- 
ters. But  even  if  they  should  happen  to  ca'tch  us 
napping  and  get  aboard  we're  only  the  Searcher, 
out  on  an  expedition  collecting  marine  flora  and 
fauna  for  some  American  institution  these  greas- 
ers never  heard  of.  We'll  be  bringing  up  enough 


THE  DIFFICULT  ISLANDS  127 

curiosities  with  the  shell  to  make  that  look  right, 
and  as  for  the  log,  that  was  all  written  up  yester- 
day. I  did  it  and  I  tell  you  it  reads  great. " 

"It  might  work,"  was  the  reluctant  admission; 
"but  there's  one  thing  that's  been  overlooked. " 

"What's  that?" 

"Me,"  said  Tevis,  his  mind  taking  a  tentative 
turn,  "why  shouldnt  I  'blow'  on  you  poachers  and 
expose  the  whole  plot  f ' ' 

"Because,"  said  Flamel,  smiling,  "you'll  take 
too  much  interest  in  the  game. ' ' 

There  was  a  rattling  forward  and  a  splash  in 
the  stillness. 

"There  goes  the  anchor!"  said  the  first  officer. 

Captain  Thrale  was  going  forward  with  the 
steward,  to  whom  he  was  giving  some  orders. 

"Tell  me,"  said  Tevis  to  Flamel,  looking  at  the 
Captain,  "how  is  that  little  schooner  master  able 
to  take  hold  and  run  this  steamer?" 

"Aw,  there's  no  mystery  about  running  a  boat 
like  this, ' '  he  laughed  lightly.  *  '  You  could  do  it — 
anybody  could  do  it — nothing  easier.  All  you've 
got  to  do  is  to  have  competent  officers  and  hands, 
and  for  anybody  like  the  old  man,  who's  been  to 
sea  all  his  life  to  step  from  a  sailing  vessel  to  the 
Captain's  place  on  a  steam  yacht  is  as  easy  as  fall- 
ing off  a  yardarm.  And  with  Mrs.  Thrale  and 
her  cat  to  look  out  for  him,  I  guess-  he  '11  get  along 
all  right." 

Flamel  laughed  again,  his  tanned  face  wrink- 
ling. Tevis'  views  of  the  gravity  of  the  crime  of 


128  THE    SEA    HAWK 

collecting  pearls  in  depths  to  which  the  crude  na- 
tive divers  and  Chinese  could  never  venture,  began 
to  fall  in  with  those  of  the  first  officer.  In  his 
present  state  of  mind  he  cared  little  what  might 
be  going  forward,  and  even  though  he  had  at  first 
considered  himself  as  a  pressed  man  and  had  acted 
accordingly,  he  no  longer  made  any  show  of 
demurring. 

Next  morning  found  him  in  blouse  and  overalls, 
down  in  the  hold,  working  in  his  old  nervously 
eager  way,  getting  out  the  electric  material.  The 
men,  most  of  whom  were  web-footed  Swedes,  la- 
bored with  such  zest  and  alacrity — they  were  all 
on  lays,  as  Tevis  soon  learned — that  they  were 
ready  with  the  helmets,  tubes,  wires  and  lamps  by 
noon.  The  scheme  of  lighting  was  simple.  Long 
coils  of  heavily  insulated  cable  were  to  be  stretched 
from  the  yacht's  generator  into  the  boats  from  the 
ends  of  improvised  yards.  Each  boat  was  sup- 
plied with  a  tall  mast  at  the  foot  of  which  was  a 
reel.  The  wire  worked  through  a  pulley  at  the 
top  of  the  mast  and  then  down,  through  the  reel, 
to  the  lamp,  which  was  fastened  to  the  top  of  the 
diver's  helmet,  just  like  a  miner's  light. 

In  each  boat,  beside  the  reel,  there  was  placed  an 
air  machine  and  two  wire  baskets  in  which  the 
pearls  were  to  be  collected.  By  the  old-fashioned 
method  a  signal  rope  was  used,  but  Tevis  had  ar- 
ranged to  dispense  with  this,  and  to  use  the  light- 
ing wire  instead. 

There  was  a  trial  of  the  lighting,  in  which  the 


THE  DIFFICULT  ISLANDS  129 

divers  clumped  over  the  deck  in  their  leaded  boots, 
the  powerful  lights  gleaming  from  the  crests  of 
their  great  helmets,  though  the  sun  was  shining 
brightly. 

Miss  Braisted  watched  this  dress  rehearsal  in- 
tently, her  large  eyes  lighting  up  with  curious 
interest.  The  big-snouted  helmets  appealed  strong- 
ly to  her  sense  of  the  grotesque  and  she  laughed 
merrily  whenever  one  of  the  divers  shook  his  head 
or  turned  suddenly.  She  kovered  near  them,  and 
seemed  to  get  as  much  entertainment  out  of  their 
doings  as  she  would  from  a  vaudeville  act.  She 
was  dressed  in  a  smart  suit  of  white  duck,  and 
wore  the  little  white  cap  which  sat  so  becomingly 
upon  her  black,  wavy  hair,  with  its  rebellious  fluffs 
and  wisps  which  the  wind  brushed  lightly  against 
her  soft  round  cheek.  Tevis  was  glad  of  her  pres- 
ence, but  it  brought  him  no  peace.  Several  times 
while  he  was  connecting  up  or  coiling  the  wires, 
he  had  to  pause  from  the  sheer  attraction  of  her 
charming  face  and  of  her  divinely  rounded  figure, 
topped  by  the  heaven  of  her  hair,  and  to  steal 
glances  at  her.  But  there  was  always  a  sigh  in  his 
heart  as  he  turned  away. 

When  she  walked  along  the  deck,  the  animated 
smile  and  the  bending  grace  by  which,  unlike  Sir 
Charles,  she  made  obvious  the  fact  that  she  did  not 
hold  herself  airily  aloof  from  the  human  creatures 
that  surrounded  her,  made  her  very  popular  with 
the  crew.  Her  buoyancy  of  manner  and  her  mod- 
est and  gentle  way,  despite  her  constrained  posi- 


130  THE    SEA    HAWK 

tion  as  a  prisoner  on  her  own  yacht,  had,  aided 
by  her  natural  beauty,  made  easy  conquest  of  the 
hearts  of  all  aboard.  It  was  clear  that  in  interest- 
ing herself  in  the  preparations  for  the  pearl-gath- 
ering she  was  making  the  best  of  the  situation. 

As  for  Sir  Charles,  he  sat  gloomily  in  his  wicker 
chair  under  the  after-awning,  smoking  or  reading 
a  magazine  and  did  not  follow  Hazel  as  she  went 
about  the  deck  from  boat  to  boat  watching  the 
workmen. 

Once  Tevis  saw  her  looking  landward,  but  it  was 
not  with  a  longing  gaze,  for  as  Flamel  had  fore- 
shown, the  island  as  seen  by  daylight  was  barren 
and  inhospitable  enough.  There  were  only  a  few 
strips  of  verdure  in  sight  from  the  mouth  of  the 
cove,  and  these  were  merely  scrubby-looking 
patches  of  chaparral  in  the  folds  of  the  brown  and 
barren  hillsides  on  which  here  and  there  a  spind- 
ling agave  or  a  forbidding  cactus  thrust  up  its 
spikes  to  the  fiercely  burning  sun. 

"Is  it  any  wonder, "  asked  Tevis,  pausing  beside 
her,  when  the  deck  rehearsal  was  over,  ' i  that  they 
call  these  the  Difficult  Islands  1 ' ' 

"No,  indeed,"  she  replied.  "If  they're  all  like 
this  they're  difficult  enough.  It's  a  name  that  tells 
the  whole  story.  And  yet  this  little  cove,  with  its 
white  beach  and  water  birds,  looks  very  peaceful. ' ' 

"Peaceful,  but  not  inviting,"  he  suggested. 

"No;  distinctly  not  inviting,"  she  said  with  a 
smile.  "But  see  those  black  rocks  sticking  their 
heads  above  water  out  there, ' '  she  waved  her  hand 


THE  DIFFICULT  ISLANDS  131 

in  the  direction  of  a  long,  high  point  to  the  south- 
ward, which  projected  itself  brokenly  into  the  sea, 
its  dark  rock  masses  splashed  by  flying  spray. 
"  Don't  they  remind  you  of  Stevenson's  *  Merry 
Men!'  " 

Before  he  could  reply  she  started  up  with  a  cry. 

"What's  that?" 

For  around  the  point,  well  out  of  reach  of  the 
rocks  a  queer  sail  and  a  high  dark  hull  showed 
with  the  suddenness  of  a  vitascope  picture.  The 
craft  was  coming  on  under  a  light  outside  breeze. 

What  a  strange  boat ! ' '  she  cried.  ' '  I  never  saw 
anything  like  it  before.  It's  something  like  the 
pictures  of  the  old  galleons." 

The  new-comer  was,  indeed,  an  odd  craft.  She 
was  low  amidships  and  high  in  bow  and  stern,  and 
she  carried  on  her  single  slanting  mast  a  great 
lug-sail,  fluted  against  dozens  of  small  yards. 

"It's  a  Chinese  junk,"  exclaimed  Tevis.  "I've 
seen  them  sailed  by  shrimp-catchers  in  the  Bay  of 
San  Francisco.  There's  another.  Wonder  what 
they're  up  to  here!" 


CHAPTER  XI 

WHAT  THE  DIVEKS  BROUGHT  UP 

CAPTAIN  THEALE  was  standing  on  the  forward 
deck,  his  glass  to  his  eyes,  gazing  at  the  junks, 
and  Hazel  went  over  to  him  while  he  looked  nar- 
rowly and  nervously  at  each  boat.  By  the  time  a 
third  junk  had  appeared  Mrs.  Thrale  came  up  and 
joined  the  group  on  deck,  her  black  hawk-eyes 
sharply  alert. 

* '  Goodness  me ! ' '  she  exclaimed,  taking  the  glass 
from  the  Captain's  hand  and  staring  through  it  at 
the  strange  craft.  " Ain't  they  filthy  looking 
things?  That  deck  hasn't  been  scrubbed  for  ten 
years.  And  talk  about  tempting  Providence !  Why, 
them  boats  are  about  as  sea-worthy  as  so  many 
chopping-bowls. ' ' 

<fl'm  afraid,"  began  the  Captain,  anxiously, 
'  '  that  they  '11  be  up  to  mischief. ' ' 

"Them  pig-tails,  them  mice-eating,  laundry- 
men?"  snorted  Mrs.  Thrale  contemptuously. 
"Gracious  sakes!  I  wouldn't  be  afraid  of  them. 
They  ain  't  got  the  spirit  of  guinea  pigs.  Want  to 
look  at  'em,  Miss  Braisted?"  she  asked,  turning 
to  Hazel  and  handing  her  the  glass. 

132 


WHAT  THE  DIVERS  BROUGHT  UP    133 

•% 

The  girl  peered  through  the  binoculars  and  ex- 
claimed : 

"What  a  lot  of  Chinamen!  The  boats  are  alive 
with  them." 

1 '  And  vermin, ' '  added  Mrs.  Thrale.  ' '  Wouldn  't 
Port  have  a  time  with  the  rats  aboard  that  boat? 
Well,  of  course,  they're  out  for  pearls.  I  saw  a 
stack  of  shell  on  the  deck  of  that  nearest  one  and 
she 's  got  some  small  boats  in  tow.  I  believe  I  can 
smell  her  from  here." 

The  lug-sail  slanted  under  the  stiff  breeze  and 
the  first  junk  tacked  a  little  nearer. 

"It's  the  On  Yick  Company,  that's  what  it  is," 
said  the  Captain  reflectively.  "They've  got  Es- 
piritu  Santo  and  three  or  four  islands  above.  Wish 
we  hadn't  dropped  anchor  here.  See  that  fellow 
come  on?  He's  too  blamed  curious  to  suit  me." 

"My  land!"  cried  Mrs.  Thrale.  "A  scurvy  lot 
of  Chinks  like  that  ain't  going  to  scare  me.  I 
could  shoo  'em  off  like  so  many  hens.  I'd  like  to 
know!  There!  They're  gone  off  on  the  other 
tack.  They  ain't  going  to  bother  a  big  boat  like 
this." 

"Where  do  you  suppose  they  hail  from,  Cap- 
tain?" asked  Tevis. 

"From  some  camp  down  the  island,"  he  replied, 
breathing  freer  as  he  saw  the  junks  sail  by.  *  '  On 
Yick  works  a  lot  of  men  and  takes  fout  stacks  of 
shell.  He  used  to  have  a  six-year  concession  from 
Magdalena  Bay  north.  Now  he's  got  the  islands. 
He  takes  turtle,  too,  and  whale  and  seal  and  aba- 


134  THE    SEA    HAWK 

> 

lones — anything  he  can  get  his  hooks  onto.  But 
he's  a  hull  year  doing  most  nothing  in  the  pearl 
business.  Just  wait  till  we  get  to  work.  It  won't 
be  close  in  shore,  where  the  water's  waist  deep, 
and  the  bank's  fished  out.  But  all  the  same,"  he 
added,  "I  wish  them  highbinders  hadn't  showed 
up  the  first  day.  Looks  like  bad  luck." 

The  afternoon  was  very  hot.  Sir  Charles 
stretched  in  his  steamer-chair  under  the  awning, 
smoked  steadily  and  stared  dumbly  seaward  over 
the  blue  gulf,  on  which  the  long  swells  lazily  rose 
and  fell.  He  seemed  to  be  in  the  sulks  and  was 
heavily  lethargic. 

Dinner,  or  as  Mrs.  Thrale  would  have  it,  ' '  sup- 
per," was  served  at  four  bells — "an  ungodly 
hour, ' '  according  to  Sir  Charles,  who,  on  reaching 
the  table,  ordered  the  Jap  to  fetch  him  a  bottle  of 
port.  He  and  the  Captain  had  generally  drank  a 
glass  or1  two  of  claret  or  some  other  light  wine  at 
dinner,  by  the-  tacit  permission  of  Mrs.  Thrale, 
who,  however,  always  signalled  sharply  with  her 
eyes  when  the  Captain  fingered  the  bottle,  and 
scowled  when  he  ventured  to  pour  out  a  third 
glass.  But  this  time  the  two  convivial  ones  not 
only  finished  the  first  bottle  of  port,  but  were  pre- 
paring to  attack  another. 

"You  were  speaking  of  black  pearls,"  said 
Hazel  to  Tevis,  as  he  sat  next  to  her  at  the  table, 
' '  are  they  all  that  are  found  here ! ' ' 

"Oh,  no,"  said  he.    "There  are  plenty  of  white 


WHAT  THE  DIVERS  BROUGHT  UP    135 

ones,  too,  according  to  the  reports.  But  the  black 
ones  are  almost  as  valuable  as  the  white. " 

"Is  it  true  that  pearls  can  be  made  artificially  f  " 
she  asked.  "I've  read  about  their  putting  shot 
into  the  shells  of  live  oysters  and  that  large  gems 
would  form  around  them." 

"Oh,  that's  right  enough,"  said  the  Captain, 
who  under  the  loosening  agency  of  the  wine  was 
unusually  free  of  tongue.  ' '  Chinamen  do  that.  I'll 
bet  On  Yick  does  it.  Chinamen  even  take  little 
images  of  Buddha  and  put  'em  into  the  live  oyster 
and  the  pearl  forms  all  around  'em." 

"Wonderful!"  said  Hazel. 

"Yes;  but  they  ain't  much  good,"  said  Thrale. 
"Expersh  can  tell  'em  every  time." 

He  reached  for  the  bottle  again  and  was  about 
to  pour  out  another  glass  of  wine  when  Mrs. 
Thrale  gave  a  warning  sniff,  and  her  forehead 
drew  together  in  its  fierce  bars,  while  her  black 
eyes  gleamed  with  something  more  than  mere  dis- 
approval. The  neck  of  the  bottle  went  to  the  glass, 
just  a  bit  unsteadily. 

"Captain!" 

Thrale  started  up  and  a  great  blotch  of  port 
reddened  the  cloth,  and  yet  he  was  about  to  pour 
out  his  glass  at  all  hazards,  when  his  wife  cawed 
forth  again: 

"Mercy,  Captain  Thrale,  you've  spoiled  this 
table  cover!  Set  that  bottle  right  down.  I'd  like 
to  know !  Haven 't  you  had  more  'n  enough  for  one 
night?  I'm  saying  nothing  about  them  that  makes 


136  THE    SEA    HAWK 

a  business  of  wine-drinking " — she  glanced  toward 
the  baronet — "for  that's  about  all  they  can  do 
anyhow;  but  you've  got  a  lot  of  work  before  you 
to-night,  Captain,  and  you've  got  to  keep  your 
head.  I  think  we've  had  about  enough  tippling  for 
this  trip,  anyway.  Wine-  is  a  mocker  and  strong 
drink  is  raging,  but  I'm  going  to  take  good  care 
it  don't  rage  aboard  this  ship  any  more." 

"Why,  my  good  Mrs.  Thrale,"  said  Walden, 
"you  don't  mean  you're  going  to  forbid  wine  at 
table." 

"You  needn't  'good  Mrs.  Thrale'  me,"  said  the 
head  of  the  board,  frowning,  as  she  went  around 
the  table  and  sprinkled  salt  on  the  splotched  cloth. 
"I'm  not  only  going  to  forbid  the  horrible  stuff 
at  table,  but  I'm  going  to  do  more  than  that. 
You'll  see  what  I'll  do.  I'm  not  going  to  have  any 
more  drunkenness  aboard  this  ship.  I  saw  'Mac- 
Laren,  the  chief  engineer,  looking  like  he'd  been1 
sampling* some  of  them  bottles.  That  kind  of  thing 
has  got  to  stop." 

Sir  Charles  said  no  more.  While  Hazel  and 
Tevis  talked  of  the  pearls — she  with  that  well-bred 
air  which  passes  over  a  "scene"  so  easily,  and  Ke 
with  recurrent  feelings  of  disgust  for  the  other 
three,  and  particularly  for  Sir  Charles — the  bar- 
onet lapsed  into  the  sulks  and  drank  defiantly  until 
the  second  bottle  was  emptied.  But  Captain 
Thrale  did  not  touch  his  glass  again. 

After*  dinner  Tevis  stood  amidships  with  the 
Captain,  watching  the  sun  as  it  hung  low  over  the 


WHAT  THE  DIVERS  BROUGHT  UP    137 

pink  and  purple  sea.  They  were  both  eager  for 
the  approach  of  night  and  the  first  dip  of  the 
divers.  Tevis  felt  that  it  was  strange  that,  from 
actual  rebellion  toward  the  enterprise,  he  had 
changed  his  attitude,  so  as  now  to  be  ready  to 
fling  himself  into  it  with  reckless  abandon ;  but  it 
was  not  merely  the  novelty  of  the  adventure  and 
his  professional  pride  in  the  outcome  of  the  engi- 
neering plans  that  compelled  him.  He  wanted  to 
plunge  into  the  work  and  forget  himself  utterly. 
And  so  the  sun  could  not  sink  quickly  enough  for 
him  nor  the  shades  of  evening  fall  too  fast. 

Tevis  noted  a  group  of  pantrymen,  among  whom 
were  Yokio  and  the  cook,  hoisting  some  loaded 
baskets  by  a  line  from  the  lazarette.  He  wondered 
a  little  at  this,  as  it  was  no  part  of  the  prepara- 
tions for  the  night.  But  soon  Mrs.  Thrale  came 
forward  from  the  cabin,  followed  by  her  cat,  and 
gave  some  orders  to  the  pantrymen,  who  carried 
the  heavy  baskets  from  the  hatchway  to  the  rail, 
straining  under  their  burdens. 

"What's  she  doing  now?"  the  Captain  mut- 
tered. The  men  lifted  the  contents  of  the  baskets 
above  the  rail  and  threw  them  into  the  sea,  like 
so  many  sticks  or  stones,  heaving  them  in  one  by 
one  or  two  by  two  as  they  chanced  to  pick  them 
up.  * l  Well,  I  '11  be  keelhauled  if  she  am 't  throwing 
all  our  liquor  bottles  overboard!" 

He  started  forward  in  a  strained  way,  and  Tevis 
followed  him.  With  her  own  hands  Mrs.  Thrale 
was  helping  to  jettison  the  contents  of  the  wine 


138  THE     SEA    HAWK 

closet.  She  was  heaving  the  bottles  overboard  with 
scornful  flings  and  a  fierce  delight. 

"Why,  Emily!"  the  Captain  protested,  with  a 
mournful  shake  of  his  head.  "What  in  the  world 
are  you  doing?" 

She  made  a  determined  downward  sweep  with 
her  hand  and  a  big  flask  struck  the  water  with  a 
spiteful  splash. 

"Doing  what  I  ought  to  done  in  the  first  place," 
she  declared.  "The  mocker  ain't  going  to  mock 
me,  I  can  tell  you.  I'm  going  to  clean  out  that 
hull  wine  closet  before  I'm  an  hour  older." 

The  Captain  made  a  despairing  gesture,  and 
said  under  his  breath,  "Good  Lord!  What  a 
woman ! ' ' 

Glass  vessels  of  all  sizes  from  pint  Chianti  flasks 
to  claret  demijohns  were  now  splashing  into  the 
water  at  a  merry  rate.  Some  of  the  men  pitched 
bottles  from  one  side  of  the  yacht  and  some  from 
the  other,  while  two  kept  hoisting  up  the  baskets 
through  the  hatchway.  Mrs.  Thrale  worked  harder 
than  any  of  the  men,  flinging  in  gallon  demijohns 
with  grim  delight.  She  was  in  the  thick  of  the 
destruction  when  Sir  Charles  sauntered  unsteadily 
along  deck,  smoking  a  cigar.  He  paused  with  a 
puzzled  look  for  a  moment  and  then  said: 

"Chucking  over  old  soldiers,  eh?  Gad,  I  didn't 
think  there  were  so  many  aboard."  He  laughed, 
and,  going  over  to  the  side,  looked  at  one  of  the 
baskets.  "Great  Scott!  What  does  this  mean? 
Hold  on  there,  you  fellow ! "  he  roared  catching  the 


WHAT  THE  DIVERS  BROUGHT  UP    139 

uplifted  arm  of  the  nearest  man.  "That's  good 
Chablis  you're  throwing  overboard.  Let's  see  the 
label.  '  Fifty- three. '  Why,  that  wine 's  worth  three 
guineas  a  quart,  and  you're  tossing  it  away  by  the 
dozen. ' ' 

"Yes,"  cried  Mrs.  Thrale,  scornfully,  passing 
him  with  an  armful  of  bottles, ' '  and  if  it  was  worth 
a  hundred  guineas,  it  would  go  just  the  same.5' 
She  threw  a  bottle  with  a  vicious  fling  and  it 
chugged  into  the  water  like  a  stone,  as  she  cried, 
"I'd  like  to  know!" 

"My  God,  woman,  do  you  realize  what  you've 
got  there?  It's  Moselle!"  He  grasped  from  her 
hand  the  bottle  she  was  about  to  throw  into  the 
sea.  'Coblenz,  1848.'  From  the  Prince's  own 
cellar." 

Mrs.  Thrale  glared  at  the  man  who  had  dared  to 
prevent  her  righteous  action,  the  bar  sinister  show- 
ing fiercely  on  her  forehead. 

"Look  here,  Mister  Lord!"  she  shrieked!  "You 
leave  them  bottles  be!  Don't  you  dare  touch  one 
of  'em !  I  don't  know  anything  about  your  Prince's 
cellar.  I  don't  care  where  any  of  this  stuff  comes 
from,  but  I  know  where  it's  going  to.  Stand  off 
and  don't  you  dare  interfere !  I'd  like  to  know !" 
She  seized  the  bottle  from  his  hand  and  it  followed 
the  others. 

"But  you've  no  idea  what  this  wine  is  worth!" 
groaned  Walden.  "You  couldn't  buy  it  for  less 
than  twenty  dollars  the  quart.  It's  sparkling 
Mo " 


140  THE    SEA    HAWK 

"Go  'way!"  she  fulminated.  "Go  'way  and 
mind  your  own  affairs.  I  ain't  buying  any  wine; 
I'm  getting  rid  of  the  beastly  stuff.  There's  a 
thousand  bottles  that's  got  to  go.  It  will  all  be 
cleaned  out.  I  want  that  wine  closet  to  stow  shell 
in." 

"Gad!"  cried  Walden.  He  looked  about  from 
one  destroyer  to  the  other,  and,  with  amazing  ex- 
pertness,  told  off  the  work  of  destruction,  with 
despairing  groans : 

' '  Amatillado !  Lafitte !  Chartreuse !  Yquem — 
rare  old  Yquem,  bottled  at  the  chateau.  By  joveJ 
This  is  enough  to  make  a  man  sick.  Chianti  vee- 
chio !  Epernay !  My  good  woman,  you're  not  go- 
ing to  throw  away  all  that  champagne!" 

Mrs.  Thrale  made  no  reply.  She  merely  set  her 
teeth  and  worked  hard,  with  a  red  face  and  fierce 
forehead. 

Walden  became  desperate  as  the  champagne  be- 
gan to  splash  into  the  sea,  and  with  his  desperation 
came  recklessness.  Tevis  and  Flamel  watched  him 
amusedly  as  he  gazed  at  the  tragic  work.  He 
clenched  his  hands,  he  ground  his  big  teeth  and  the 
veins  in  his  forehead  bulged.  Port,  the  white  cat, 
knowing  no  partisanship  in  this  acute  situation, 
came  along  the  deck  and  sidling  up  to  the  baronet, 
rubbed  his  glossy  fur  against  the  infuriated  man's 
leg,  arching  his  back  and  purring  in  a  friendly 
tone. 

"Ah,"  said  Walden,  reaching  down  excitedly 
and  lifting  up  the  cat.  ' 1 1  know  what  will  stop  this 


WHAT  THE  DIVEES  BROUGHT  UP    141 

beastly  business.    I  say,  Mrs.  Thrale,  listen  to  me 
a  moment!" 

The  sea  hawk  paused,  a  bottle  of  champagne  in 
each  hand  and  a  questioning  look  in  her  face. 
4 'Well,  I'd  like  to  know!"  she  said  simply. 
* '  You  see  this  cat  ?"  he  said  firmly.    '  '  You  value 
him  very  highly,  don't  you,  even  if  his  name  is 
Port,  which  you  toss  overboard  with  disdain?  Now 
I  wish  to  warn  you  very  plainly  that  if  any  more 
of  those  bottles  are  thrown  into  the  sea,  your  cat 
goes  too."    He  glanced  at  her  angrily,  and  then 
held  the  cat  over  the  rail. 

" Angels  and  ministers  of  grace  defend  us!" 
breathed  Flamel  to  Tevis,  looking  toward  Mrs. 
Thrale,  "What's  coming  now!  Get  on  to  that 
visage !  Talk  about  your  dark,  lowering  thunder 
storms ! ' ' 

And,  indeed,  the  sea  hawk's  face  was  stormy.  I! 
was  something  more — it  was  cyclonic.  Her  black 
eyes  snapped  like  electric  sparks. 

1 1  Merciful  goodness !  gracious  sakes  alive ! ' '  she 
screeched,  standing  with  her  shoulders  curved  over 
and  one  hand  clutching  a  champagne  bottle  raised 
threateningly.  "Well,  I'd  like  to  know!  Do  you 
expect  I'm  going  to  stand  that  kind  of  talk  from 
you?  Not  for  one  little  minute — not  if  you  had  all 
the  Houses  of  Parliament  and  the  King  of  your 
little  islands  at  your  back."  She  took  an  angry 
stride  forward  while  Walden  turned  hesitatingly, 
holding  the  cat  over  the  deck.  "Drop  that  cat!" 


142  THE    SEA    HAWK 

she  squawled.  "Do  you  hear,  Mr.  Lord?  DROP 

THAT  CAT ! ' ' 

"Yes,  Mrs.  Thrale,"  he  said  in  milder  tones. 
"I'll  do  it  if  you'll  stop  throwing  away  the  wine." 

"I'll  throw  away  all  the  wine  I  please,"  she 
screamed.  "But  you  let  that  cat  alone  or  I'll  have 
you  clapped  into  irons.  Do  youliear  what  I  say? 
Irons!  I'd  like  to  know!" 

"I  hear  you,  madame,  but " 

She  looked  at  him  with  her  hard,  glittering,  com- 
pelling eyes — a  long  steady,  staring  look.  He  an- 
swered the  gaze,  one  cold  gray  eye  behind  its 
shielding  monocle,  the  other  squinted  a  little  in  the 
low  searching  sunlight  which  he  faced  as  he  faced 
the  woman. 

"It's  a  fight  of  optics,"  whispered  Flamel  to 
Tevis.  '  '  Ten  to  one  on  the  black ! ' ' 

The  hard-faced,  dominating  Yankee  woman  and 
the  round- featured,  defiant  Briton  stood  staring  at 
each  other  amid  perfect  silence.  Two  or  three 
times  Walden's  lips  moved  as  if  he  were  about  to 
speak,  and  once,  without  withdrawing  his  gaze,  he 
made  a  motion  as  if  to  toss  the  cat  overboard. 
Meantime  Port  writhed  and  struggled  to  be  free 
and  clawed  at  his  captor's  beard,  but  Walden  held 
him  firmly  until  Mrs.  Thrale  made  an  hypnotic 
downward  movement  with  her  hand,  when  he 
looked  at  her  weakly,  shrugged  his  shoulders  a  lit- 
tle and  let  go  of  the  cat,  which  as  it  scrambled  to 
the  deck,  gave  him  an  ugly  scratch  on  the  back 
of  his  hand. 


WHAT  THE  DIVEES  BROUGHT  UP    143 

"I'd  like  to  know!"  was  all  the  victorious 
woman  said. 

Walden,  awed  and  humbled,  turned  away,  while 
Mrs.  Thrale  resumed  her  lightening  of  the  cellar. 
When  the  last  basket  was  brought  up  he  walked 
aft,  shaking  his  head  and  muttering  low  curses 
along  the  deck. 

"I  knew  the  hawk  eyes  would  win/'  commented 
Flamel.  * '  Poor  chap !  He  hated  to  see  that  cham- 
pagne go  overboard  and  the  other  stuff. ' ' 

"I'm  glad  it's  gone,"  said  Tevis  simply  and 
with  an  air  of  relief. 

"You  needn't  throw  that  in,"  said  Mrs.  Thrale 
quietly  to  Yokio,  setting  aside  a  dozen  quart  bot- 
tles that  bore  plain  hand- written  labels.  "That's 
my  elderberry  wine.  I  brought  it  aboard  from  the 
schooner.  I  didn't  mean  you  should  bring  it  up 
here.  I  ain't  going  to  have  it  thrown  away — not 
much. ' ' 

"I'm  glad  of  it,"  said  Miss  Braisted  earnestly 
when  Tevis  laughingly  told  her  what  Mrs.  Thrale 

had  done.  "Sir  Charles  is  inclined "  She  broke 

off  reservedly  and  smoothed  back  a  stray  wisp  of 
her  rebellious  hair. i '  When  do  you  begin  the  pearl- 
fishing,  Mr.  Tevis?" 

1 1  At  eight  bells, ' '  said  he.  '  '  It  will  be  quite  dark 
then,  and  we  can  work  unmolested. ' ' 

"Do  you  think,"  she  asked  with  a  worried  little 
look,  "that  there's  any  danger?  Those  Chinamen 
— are  they  likely  to  return  and  be  troublesome  I ' ' 


144  THE    SEA    HAWK 

"Oh,  don't  bother  about  them,"  said  he  with  an 
air  of  unconcern,  though  they  had  been  upon  his 
mind.  Three  junkloads  of  desperate  hatchetmen 
might  not  afford  a  very  pleasant  diversion,  if  they 
were  bent  on  driving  poachers  away  from  grounds 
for  which  they  had  paid  good  money  to  exploit. 
Still  he  would  not  have  minded  a  brush  with  them 
had  she  not  been  aboard.  "You  see,"  he  added 
quietly,  "our  work  will  be  at  night,  when  they're 
asleep  in  their  camps." 

Up  to  the  time  the  boats  were  to  be  lowered  he 
remained  with  Hazel  on  the  after-deck.  It  was 
very  sweet  being  alone  with  'her  and  on  such  a 
friendly  footing,  even  though  their  talk  for  the 
time  was  all  of  the  pearl  fishing  of  which  she  evi- 
dently thought  he  had  an  endless  supply  of  in- 
formation, and  though  he  had  bitter  reminders 
now  and  again  that  there  was  a  great  barrier  be- 
tween them.  She  seemed  to  be  eager  for  the  begin- 
ning of  the  work.  Only  once  did  she  refer  to  other 
matters,  and  that  was  when,  with  a  sigh,  she  spoke 
of  her  father,  expressing  the  hope  that  he  was  safe 
and  well,  and  that  he  was  not  greatly  troubled 
about  her  fate.  These  were  her  only  anxieties,  so 
far  as  they  appeared  on  the  surface.  She  seemed 
no  longer  to  chafe  unduly  because  of  the  restraints 
of  her  position.  Tevis  was  vain  enough  to  believe 
that  he  had  been  some  comfort  to  her,  for  on  the 
cruise  down  the  coast  they  had  discovered  many 
common  tastes  and  particularly  in  books  and 
music.  Indeed,  he  felt  that  she  found  his  society 


WHAT  THE  DIVERS  BROUGHT  UP    145 

— aboard  ship  at  least — more  congenial  than  that 
of  a  man  who  could  enthuse  over  horses  and  re- 
gattas and  little  else. 

At  eight  bells  the  six  divers  appeared  on  deck 
clad  in  their  grotesque  suits.  Hazel  was  vastly 
pleased  with  them. 

"I  could  look  at  them  all  day,"  said  she  to  Tevis. 
"They  make  me  think  of  those  fascinating  mon- 
sters in  <Der  Freischutz.'  They  have  eyes  like 
giant  June  bugs." 

"Yes,  and  they'll  have  antennae  enough,  too," 
said  he,  "when  the  ropes  and  wires  are  connected 
with  their  suits.  I  hope  the  trailing  lines  won't  be 
too  heavy  for  them. ' ' 

The  men  took  their  places  in  the  boats.  Tevis 
' i  connected  up ' '  and  tested  the  Nehrsts  again,  cov- 
ering each  light  with  a  dark  cloth,  as  he  did  so,  and 
switching  off  the  current  immediately.  The  con- 
cealed flashes  showed  the  powerful  lamps  to  be 
working  at  their  highest  candle-power,  and  it  only 
remained  for  him  and  Jim  Reynolds,  his  assistant, 
to  see  that  a  sufficient  current  was  steadily  gener- 
ated. This  might  keep  him  down  in  the  engine- 
room  all  night,  and  out  of  sight  of  the  boats,  so 
that  his  share  in  the  beginning  of  the  work  and 
until  he  could  safely  leave  the  lighting  in  the  hands 
of  Reynolds  would  be  tame  compared  with  the  pic- 
turesque duties  of  the  boatmen  and  divers.  Until 
the  signal  was  given  for  the  turning  on  of  the 
divers'  lights  he  remained  on  deck,  his  nerves 
a-tingle  with  the  start  of  the  boats  as  they  stole 


146  THE    SEA    HAWK 

off  in  the  darkness,  sounding  with  the  lead  lines  as 
they  went. 

1 ' Such  a  picture!'7  Hazel  said  to  Sir  Charles. 
"And  it  seems  as  though  I  had  a  share  in  the  ad- 
venture. ' ' 

"You  should  have  a  share/'  he  replied.  "It's 
your  yacht.  But  these  pirates — you  won't  get  a 
brass  farthing  out  of  them." 

It  was  a  picture,  as  Hazel  had  remarked,  and  a 
strangely  captivating  one.  It  was  something,  too, 
to  see  Mrs.  Thrale,  as  she  leaned  from  the  bridge 
and  took  in  with  eager,  searching  eyes,  the  first 
oar-strokes  in  the  venture  which  meant  so  much  to 
her. 

"the  fever  of  the  hour  seemed  to  communicate 
itself  to  Sir  Charles,  who,  strange  to  say,  became 
most  actively  interested  in  the  final  preparations, 
though  he  had  hardly  glanced  at  the  apparatus 
before.  Tevis  saw  him  and  Captain  Thrale  stand- 
ing a  little  apart  from  the  rest,  talking  earnestly, 
the  Englishman  occasionally  waving  his  hand  sea- 
ward. Walden  watched  the  departure  of  the  boats 
as  though  the  hazard  of  the  adventure  had  really 
gotten  into  his  blood  at  last,  and  Tevis  jealously 
saw  him  motioning  out  something  to  Hazel  who 
stood  with  her  elbows  on  the  rail  looking  at  the 
departing  craft,  trailing  their  wires  behind  them 
from  their  masts  as  they  spread  out  from  the  ships 
like  the  tentacles  of  an  octopus. 

It  was  not  until  the  last  boat  had  disappeared 
in  the  darkness  that  Mrs.  Thrale  left  the  deck,  and 


WHAT  THE  DIVERS  BROUGHT  UP    147 

went  down  into  the  engine-room  with  Tevis  to 
where  Jim  Reynolds  stood]  at  the  switchboard 
ready  for  the  signal  to  turn  on  the  lights.  As  they 
were  using  a  three-core  wire  the  signal  would  be 
rung  in  from  each  boat.  The  bells  now  began  to 
whirr  and  Tevis  switched  on  light  after  light.  In 
five  minutes  after  the  last  light  was  connected  up 
no  more  signals  were  sounded.  He  knew  that  the 
divers  were  all  down  and  the  lights  were  playing 
on  the  sea-bottom.  Mrs.  Thrale  left  the  engine- 
room  when  the  last  signal  was  rung  in.  She  has- 
tened up  to  see  if  any  of  the  lights  were  showing 
above  the  water.  It  was  for  this  same  reason  that 
Tevis  soon  afterward  turned  the  generators  over 
to  Jim  Reynolds  and  anxiously  climbed  to  the 
deck. 

i 'They  don't  none  of  'em  show  exactly,"  said 
Mrs.  Thrale,  when  he  rejoined  her.  "But  you  can 
almost  make  'em  out  here  and  there — the  nearest 
ones  anyway." 

Out  of  the  blankness  of  the  night,  down  upon 
the  water-level,  irregular  mist-like  patches  of  lu- 
minosity, strangely  uncertain  to  the  visual  sense, 
wavered,  darkened  and  straggled  forth  again  in 
elusive  glimmers. 

Once  or  twice  Tevis  heard  a  sound  as  of  a  basket 
striking  the  bottom  of  a  boat,  and  then  a  swash  as 
of  its  being  thrown  into  the  water  again. 

"They're  getting  up  shell  all  right,"  said  Mrs. 
Thrale  in  the  low,  pleased  tone  of  perfect  satisfac- 
tion. "They'll  make  a  big  haul  to-night.  Well, 


148  THE    SEA    HAWK 

I'm  pretty  tired.  Guess  I'll  go  to  bed  and  get  up 
early  in  the  morning  when  they  come  in,  and  see 
how  much  they  got. ' ' 

She  left  the  deck,  and  a  half-hour  later  when 
Tevis  was  about  to  return  to  the  engine-roomr  he 
heard  the  splash  of  oars  forward  of  the  bow  and 
the  call  of  the  Captain : 

"How  you  making  out?" 

"Bully!"  came  back  a  voice  from  the  water. 
' '  Taking  'em  in  as  fast  as  the  baskets  '11  work. ' ' 

Tevis  was  kept  busy  below  deck  all  the  rest  of 
the  night,  for  the  circuit  was  overloaded  and  he 
had  to  watch  his  generators  closely.  Then,  too,  the 
brushes  behaved  badly,  sparking  so  much  at  times 
that  the  three  bells  which  meant  "more  juice" 
rang  in  again  and  again.  Not  until  early  morning, 
when  the  Captain  called  down  the  tube  to  turn  off 
the  current,  did  he  go  on  deck  again. 

The  gray  of  dawn  was  warming  to  pale  pink 
and  the  sea  lay  lead-toned  in  a  liquid  hush.  Ai. 
the  boats  had  been  hoisted  and  swabbed  and  the 
men  had  gone  below.  The  deck  had  been  hosed 
down  and  of  signs  of  the  night's  poaching  the 
yacht  was  as  innocent  as  an  old  roue  after  his 
Turkish  bath. 

Mrs.  Thrale,  looking  as  though  she  had  not 
combed  her  hair  for  the  morning,  was  nagging  the 
Captain  as  he  leaned  against  the  bridge  rail,  her 
forehead  furrows  showing  darkly. 

"You  say  you  didn't  get  a  shell?"  Tevis  heard 
her  cry  harshly.  "Well,  I'd  like  to  know!  What 


WHAT  THE  DIVERS  BROUGHT  UP    149 

you  trying  to  fool  me  for?  Where's  the  shell? 
Show  it  to  me.  I  want  to  see  it." 

"I  tell  you,  Emily/'  protested  the  Captain,  with 
a  furtive,  hunted  look  on  his  sun-burnt  face,  "we 
didn't  get  any  shell — not  a  one.  If  you  don't  be- 
lieve me  ask  Flamel?" 

"Yes;  that's  right,"  said  Flamel.  "The  lights 
worked  all  right,  but  the  divers  didn't  get  any 
oysters.  But  we'll  have  better  luck  next  time.  If 
this  place  doesn't  pan  out  there's  lots  of  others." 

"But  we  counted  on  this  cove,"  cried  Mrs. 
Thrale  tenaciously.  1 1  Jose  said  it  was  a  sure  place 
for  'em.  I  can't  understand  it.  Where  is  Jose? 
I'm  going  to  find  out  what  kind  of  a  dago  liar  he 
is,  anyway." 

She  swept  down  the  stairway,  with  a  lowering 
face. 

If  Tevis  had  confessed  it,  he  was  as  keenly  dis- 
appointed as  Mrs.  Thrale  herself  and  fully  as 
mystified.  He  stepped  up  to  the  Captain  just  as 
Sir  Charles  appeared,  smoking  a  cigar,  his  face 
wearing  a  large  smile  of  animal  satisfaction. 

"How's  this,  Captain?"  began  Tevis.  "Have 
we  had  our  night's  work  for  nothing?" 

"Sh-h!"  he  cautioned,  putting  a  finger  to  his 
lips  and  watching  his  wife  out  of  sight. 

Sir  Charles  laughed,  leaned  against  the  house 
and  laughed  again. 

"Sh-h!"  warned  the  Captain,  looking  about 
more  anxiously  than  before. 

That  the  easy-going  aristocrat  who  had  never 


150  THE    SEA    HAWK 

done  a  day's  work  in  his  life  should  so  mock  their 
hard,  nerve-straining  efforts  made  Tevis  angry. 
He  turned  upon  him  in  his  rage. 

"It's  all  very  well  and  in  excellent  taste,  no 
(Joubt,  for  you  to  laugh,"  he  cried,  "but " 

"Hold  on!"  breathed  the  Captain,  in  a  wheezy 
whisper.  "We  ain't  worked  all  night  for  noth- 
ing." 

"No;  don't  worry  about  that,  old  chap," 
drawled  Sir  Charles.  "We've  got  'em  all — that  is 
nearly  all — thanks  to  your  lights." 

"Got  what?"  demanded  Tevis. 

"The  bottles,  of  course,"  said  the  baronet  in 
satisfied  tones.  "Over  eight  hundred  out  of  the 
thousand  are  safe  in  the  hold." 

"No — in  the  shaft  alley,"  corrected  the  Captain. 
"She'll  never  go  down  there.  But  for  God's  sake, 
Mr.  Tevis,  don't  breathe  a  word  of  it  to  her.  The 
crew  are  sworn  to  secrecy.  They'll  never  tell.  Sir 
Charles  is  paying  'em  a  good  bonus  for  their 
night's  work,  and  each  man  is  to  have  a  couple 
of  bottles  of  champagne." 

"Claret!"    It  was  Sir  Charles'  turn  to  correct. 

"Well,"  said  Tevis,  laughing  in  spite  of  him- 
self, though  he  would  rather  the  wine  had  stayed 
at  the  bottom,  "I  hope  it  will  be  up  anchor  and 
away  from  here;  for  as  long  as  there's  a  bottle 
left  in  this  cove  I  suppose  the  men  will  be  search- 
ing for  it  instead  of  the  pearl  Shells. ' ' 

"Yes;  we're  going  around  the  point  this  after- 
noon/' said  the  Captain.  "Of  course  the  labels  are 


WHAT  THE  DIVERS  BROUGHT  UP    151 

all  soaked  off,  but  it's  marvelous  how  Sir  Charles 
has  managed  to  sort  out  the  different  brands  by 
the  shape  and  color  of  the  bottles  and  so  on.  He 
worked  all  night  at  it." 

"Did  he?"  Tevis  was  not  able  to  keep  back  a 
bit  of  sarcasm:  "Then  he  can  do  a  little  manual 
labor  on  a  pinch." 

Sir  Charles  was  not  offended  by  the  sally. 

"Oh  yes,"  he  replied,  good-naturedly,  "that 
kind  of  labor." 

"Here  she  comes, "  undertoned  the  Captain,  with 
quick  apprehension,  as  the  dark  figure  of  Mrs. 
Thrale  came  toward  them.  ' '  Mind  you  now,  Tevis, 
not  a  word — not  a  word  I" 


CHAPTER  XII 

A  EACE  ON  THE  BEACH 

BUT  Mrs.  Thrale  was  full  of  a  great  and  gleam- 
ing satisfaction  on  the  following  morning  when 
the  results  of  the  second  night's  work  showed 
themselves  in  heaped-up  piles  of  "shell,"  taken 
from  Half-Moon  Bay  just  above  the  place  which 
the  men  had  come  to  know  as  Bottle  Cove.  The 
pearl  oysters  had  all  been  carried  ashore  to  be 
rotted  on  the  beach.  Tevis  rowed  over  in  the  gig 
with  Hazel  and  the  Captain 's  wife  soon  after  sun- 
rise when  the  sea  lay  like  quicksilver  and  the  kelp 
swayed  gently  on  the  smooth  swells  rolling  in- 
shore. He  had  had  no  sleep  since  the  afternoon  of 
Mie  previous  day,  but  he  was  too  much  interested 
to  consider  that.  There  would  be  time  for  rest 
later. 

They  watched  the  men  piling  the  great  oysters 
on  the  dry  sand  above  the  mark  of  the  highest  tide. 

"It's  a  pity  they  ain't  good  to  eat,"  said  Mrs. 
Thrale  picking  up  a  large  shell  that  had  been 
broken  in  handling.  "  I  'm  hankering  for  some  real 
oysters."  She  handed  the  shell  to  Tevis.  "See  if 
there's  a  pearl  in  it,"  she  said. 

He  opened  the  silver-tipped  mollusk  with  his 

152 


A  KACE  ON  THE  BEACH  153 

knife  and  searched  in  the  mantle  and  muscular  tis- 
sue for  a  drop  of  the  precious  nacre.  He  scraped 
out  the  oyster  and  exposed  the  beautiful,  irides- 
cent interior  of  the  shell,  with  wave  on  wave  of 
pink,  opal  and  silver  gray. 

"No  pearl,"  he  said,  "but  something  quite  as 
beautiful." 

"What  is  that?"  asked  Hazel,  looking  at  the 
mollusk  with  curious  eyes. 

"Mother-of-pearl,"  he  said,  handing  her  the 
shell. 

"Yes;  it's  lovely,"  said  she,  "and  more  wonder- 
ful than  the  pearl  itself,  but  being  so  common,  we 
don't  prize  it.  There's  a  multitude  of  shells  in 
these  piles,  but  I  wonder  how  many  pearls." 

"Maybe  not  one  in  a  thousand,"  he  replied. 

Mrs.  Thrale  passed  a  little  way  down  the  beach 
to  speak  to  the  Captain. 

"It  makes  you  think  of  people,  doesn't  it?"  said 
the  girl,  poking  at  the  edge  of  the  pile  with  the  toe 
of  her  low  tan  shoe. 

"Do  you  mean  there's  only  one  pearl  of  a  person 
in  a  thousand?"  he  asked.  "It  certainly  applies 
to  girls."  He  looked  at  her  frankly. 

"Oh,  don't  limit  it  to  my  sex,"  she  replied, 
laughingly. 

"Of  course  you  had  no  idea  whom  I  had  in  mind 
when  I  said  that?"  His  burning  gaze  made  her  a 
little  uncomfortable. 

"Not  the  slightest,"  she  answered,  though  with 
a  self-conscious  turn  of  the  head. 


154  THE    SEA    HAWK 

" You  didn't  think  I  referred  to  you?"  he  asked 
daringly. 

"Of  course  not." 

"Well,  I  did." 

"Oh,  Mr.  Tevis,"  she  said,  flushing  a  little  and 
not  a  bit  displeased,  "what  a  ponderous  compli- 
ment !  How  shall  I  return  it  1  There  are  the  sands 
on  the  beach,"  she  laughed,  "perhaps  I  could  work 
something  out  of  them." 

"I  might  have  known  you  wouldn't  take  me 
seriously,"  he  said,  looking  at  her  with  mock  rue- 
fulness. t  i  Don 't  you  want  to  walk  down  the  beach 
a  way?  The  tide  is  low  and  the  sand  is  smooth 
and  hard.  I  feel  all  cramped  up  from  having  been 
aboard  ship  so  long." 

"So  do  I,  and  it's  glorious  walking  here  along 
shore."  Impulsively  she  started  down  the  sands 
by  the  white  rim  of  the  influent  foam,  and  he  fol- 
lowed her,  reveling  in  this  chance  to  be  alone  with 
her,  with  no  voice  but  her's  and  the  sea's  in  his 
ears.  He  enjoyed  to  its  fullest  their  familiar, 
friendly  footing. 

She  walked  quickly,  whisking  on  ahead  for  the 
greater  part  of  the  first  quarter-mile.  In  her  trim, 
crisp  shirtwaist,  short  gray  skirt  and  cowboy  hat, 
she  was  very  fetching,  and  there  was  all  the  poetry 
of  girlhood  in  her  walk.  They  were  both  so  full 
of  the  freedom  of  the  beach  that  they  almost  ran 
along  until  suddenly  she  stopped  before  a  huge 
mollusk  lying  on  a  flat  rock. 

"What  a   strange   creature!"   she   exclaimed. 


A  RACE  ON  THE  BEACH  155 

"See,  it  has  breathing  holes  around  the  edge  of 
its  shell/' 

"It  Van  abalone,"  he  explained.  "It  has  only 
a  single1  shell.  The  under  side  of  the  animal  sticks 
to  ihe  rock.  It  clings  so  tightly,  in  fact,  that  per- 
sons, trying  to  pry  it  up  have  been  known  to  have 
ibeir  fingers  caught  in  its  vise  and  have  been 
drowned  by  the  rising  tide. ' ' 

He  had  taken  out  his  pocket  knife  and  was  about 
to  insert  it  between  the  shell  and  the  rock. 

"  No ;  don 't  do  that, ' '  she  said.  ' '  You  might  get 
caught. ' '  She  started  on  again,  her  feet  twinkling 
along  the  sands  under  the  short  skirt,  her  arms 
moving  freely  from  her  well-turned  shoulders. 

"Don't  you  feel  a  long  way  from  civilization  t" 
he  asked,  looking  at  the  sweet,  tanned  face,  fringed 
with  the  dark  hair  with  which  the  wind  was  making 
free. 

"Yes,"  she  said,  with  a  laugh  and  a  flash  of 
white  teeth;  "but  for  the  moment  I  don't  mind  it. 
I  'd  rather  be  right  here  on  this  beach  in  this  wild 
Half-Moon  Bay,  just  now  than  anywhere  else — 
here  where  people  don't  count  and  Nature  is  every- 
thing." 

' '  Yes, ' '  he  agreed ; ' '  Nature  is  everything  here. ' ' 
He  looked  at  her  wistfully.  Nature  was  moving 
potently  in  him  at  that  moment.  Ah,  how  he  would 
have  joyed  to  fold  that  form  of  hers  in  his  arms 
and  tell  her  what  was  in  his  heart ! 

They  were  now  among  the  rocks,  picking  their 
way  over  and  between  them.  He  sprang  upon  a 


156  THE    SEA    HAWK 

rough  rock  table  and  extended  his  hand  down  to 
her  where  she  stood  irresolute. 

She  put  her  little  ungloved  hand  in  his  large, 
strong  one  and  he  reveled  in  the  soft,  warm  feel 
of  it  for  a  rapturous  moment  while  he  helped  her 
up  to  him.  Standing  side  by  side  upon  the  rock, 
they  looked  out  upon  the  sea  as  it  lay  calm  and  blue 
before  them,  and  his  hand  still  felt  the  glow  of 
that  blessed,  but  fleeting  contact. 

"I  don't  thinL  we  ought  to  go  any  further,"  she 
said  as  she  turned  and  looked  doubtfully  along  the 
craggy  shore  where  the  waves  swashed  with  a 
white  outcrash,  sending  forth  glittering  showers  of 
spray. 

"Oh,  just  up  to  that  point  there,"  he  pleaded. 
"We've  been  out  such  a  little  while."  He  sprang 
lightly  from  the  rock  "This  way,"  he  directed. 
"Jump  right  down  here  into  this  little  patch  of 
sand." 

She  leaped  lightly  down  and  he  went  on  ahead, 
fearing  that  she  might  protest  against  following 
him  much  farther. 

"Wait  a  minute!"  she  cried,  her  face  reddening 
a  little.  "I've  lost  my  shoe." 

"Where  is  it?"  he  asked,  springing  back  to  her. 
He  looked  about,  reached  down  and  picked  up  the" 
shoe  which  was  half-covered  by  sand.  It  was  a 
pretty  little  thing,  that  shoe,  with  a  high  instep 
and  quite  a  sensible  heel  as  girl's  heels  go.  His 
hand  hugged  it  fondly  as  he  shook  the  sand  from 
it,  wiped  it  on  his  sleeve  and  handed  it  to  her. 


A  RACE  ON  THE  BEACH  157 

She  slipped  it  on  easily. 

"Let  me  tie  it,"  he  said  bending  over  her  as  she 
sat  upon  the  stone. 

She  put  out  her  foot  while  he  dropped  upon  his 
knees  in  the  sand  and  knotted  the  silk  lace  ir.to  the 
neatest  tie  he  could  make. 

"You  don't  want  to  go  any  farther  1"  he  said. 
"Well,  this  is  a  good  place  to  rest." 

"No;  let's  go  back  to  the  beach.  These  rocks 
are  so  forbidding — they  seem  anything  but  friend- 
ly." She  rose  and,  passing  around  the  large  rock 
upon  which  they  had  stood,  dropped  lightly  upon 
the  sand  where  she  sat  looking  off  at  the  circling 
waves. 

He  came  and  sat  beside  her. 

"Isn't  it  delightful!"  she  cried  rhapsodically. 
1 '  Such  a  beautiful  beach !  I  should  like  to  take  a 
dip  in  that  surf.  I  haven't  had  a  good  swim  since 
we  left  Catalina.  I  thought  the  water  a  little  cold 
there,  but  Sir  Charles  didn't  mind  it." 

"Tell  me,"  he  said  with  sudden  daring  intensi- 
ty, "what  are  you  marrying  that  man  for?" 

She  flushed  quickly,  gave  a  quick  toss  of  the 
head  and  looked  at  him  challengingly. 

"How  do  you  know  I  am  marrying  him — who 
told  you?" 

"He  did."  He  looked  straight  at  her,  and  her 
eyes  lost  a  bit  of  the  bravado  that  was  in  them. 

"Did  he?"  She  bit  her  lip  in  plain  vexation. 
"Why  it  was  not  to  be  announced  until  New 
Year." 


158  THE     SEA    HAWK 

"To  be  perfectly  fair,"  said  Tevis,  "I  don't 
think  he  would  have  told  me  but  for — for — circum- 
stances. But  answer  me,"  he  insisted,  "with  a 
touch  of  his  old  audacity — "why  are  you  marrying 
him?" 

"You  are  taking  a  great  deal  for  granted,  Mr. 
Tevis, ' '  she  said,  with  the  air  of  pique  still  in  her 
tone  and  in  her  serious  brown  eyes.  "After  all, 
how  long  have  you  known  me  that  you  should 
ask " 

"How  long  have  I  known  you?"  he  repeated 
raptly.  "Ages.  Don't  you  know  that  there  is  no 
such  thing  as  time?  We  are  creatures  of  the  uni- 
verse, you  and  I,  and  what  may  be  a  year  on  this 
planet  may  be  centuries  on  another. ' ' 

"One  world  at  a  time,"  she  said  with  a  little 
laugh.  "I  prefer  to  arrange  my  almanac  by  the 
revolutions  of  this  one.  You  see,  I  am  quite 
earthly." 

"No,  you're  not,"  he  declared  ecstatically. 
"You're  perfectly  divine!" 

She  gave  a  frightened  little  glance  at  him  and 
saw  his  love  lying  nakedly  in  his  eyes. 

"Oh,  Mr.  Tevis!"  she  cried,  springing  sudden- 
ly to  her  feet,  "you  mustn't " 

"Don't  go  away!"  he  said  pleadingly  and  with 
wistful  tenderness  as  she  started  toward  the  boat'. 
' '  Not  just  yet ! ' '  He  rose  quickly  and  stood  beside 
her.  "Stay  and  listen  to  me.  I'm  going  to  tell 
you "  ' 


A  RACE  ON  THE  BEACH  159 

"Don't!"  she  cried  in  a  dismayed  tone. 
"Don't!" 

"Then  you  know  what  I  am  going  to  say  and 
you  forbid  me  in  advance  ? "  he  said  ruefully.  ' '  Is 
that  fair?" 

"Yes,"  she  declared  stoutly.  "It's  fair  under 
the  circumstances.  Eemember  what  we  were  talk- 
ing about  just  now — my  engagement. ' '  She  looked 
at  him  with  well-affected  hauteur  that  seemed  to 
Tevis  to  place  miles  between  them.  "I  don't  see 

how  you  could But  of  course  you  don't  know 

how  impossible  it  is — how " 

"But  I  haven't  said  anything  you  could  except 
to  yet, ' '  he  reminded  her. 

' '  No, ' '  she  said,  relenting  a  little.  ' '  You  haven 't 
said  it,  and  you  mustn't  even  think  it." 

He  looked  at  her  with  dubious,  puzzled  brow  as 
they  faced  each  other  there  in  silence,  and  the  long 
pause  was  filled  in  by  the  voice  of  the  sea. 

"And  you're  always  going  to  hold  me  at  arm's 
length  like  this,  and  discipline  me  for  my  very 
thoughts?  That's  pretty  hard — a  man  is  forbid- 
den even  to  think."  There  was  a  cynical  note  in 
his  voice.  "Come  and  sit  down  on  the  sand  again. 
I'll  be  tame — that  is,  for  the  present.  I'll  eat  out 
of  your  hand." 

She  smiled  faintly  and  sat  down  with  unexpected 
obedience,  though  a  little  farther  off  than  he  could 
have  wished. 

"That's  good,"  he  said,  returning  her  smile. 
"Now  I  want  you  to  talk — to  tell  me  about  your- 


160  THE    SEA    HAWK 

self  and  how  you  came  to  consider  that — that  mer- 
cenary Walden." 

' '  But  he  isn  't  mercenary, ' '  she  protested.  ' '  He 
doesn't  think  of  father's  money.  The  Walden 
estates  are  among  the  largest  in  England.  "If 
there  is  any  advantage  so  far  as  wealth  is  con- 
cerned, it's  probably  on  his  side,  as  I  fear  father's 
affairs  have  not  been  going  right  of  late.  I  don't 
know  why  I  am  telling  you  these  things,  Mr.  Tevis 
— they  are  wholly  material  and  sound  awfully  sor- 
did— but  you  have  been  very  good  to  me — very 
friendly  and  kind.  You  are  the  only  one  I  can 
look  to.  I  have  been  counting  on  you  in  whatever 
might  happen  to  me  in  this  perilous  adventure." 

1  'And  you  can  count  on  me,"  he  said  fervidly. 
"You  can  count  on  me  to  the  end  of  the  world. 
Don't  I  owe  it  to  you  for  saving  my  life  that  time 
in  the  creek,  and  besides,  though  you  forbid  my 
uttering  it,  you  know  how  I  love  you!  There,  I 
have  said  it,  Hazel." 

"But  you — Oh,  I'm  so  sorry!"  she  cried,  in  a 
sympathetic  tone.  "And  you — you  mustn't — you 
mustn't  say  any  more,"  she  added  appealingly.  "I 
am  promised  to  him.  Father  is  bent  upon  the  mar- 
riage and  his  will  is  iron.  Nothing  can  stand 
against  it." 

"Nothing  but  love,"  he  said  confidently. 

"No;  not  even  that,"  she  insisted.  "We  can  be 
ever  and  ever  so  good  friends,  but  nothing  more." 

She  looked  at  him  with  helpless,  appealing  gaze, 
and  there  was  that  in  her  eyes  that  made  him  feel 


A  EACE  ON  THE  BEACH  161 

she  had  not  listened  unmoved  to  his  words  of  love, 
though  she  had  forbidden  them  utterance. 

"Well,  I  can't  despair  of  you — not  even  after  all 
you  have  said."  He  was  standing  before  her  as 
he  spoke,  looking  intently  at  the  sweet  face  as  it 
rested  upon  the  dainty  hand  whose  possession  he 
could  not  so  lightly  forego.  Still  gazing  at  her, 
his  eye  glanced  past  the  curve  of  her  shoulder  and 
at  once  gave  a  curious,  startled  look;  for  over  at 
the  edge  of  the  point  of  rocks  which  ran  down  to 
the  water  he  caught  sight  of  something  like  an 
inverted  bowl  and  under  it  a  loose  blouse  fluttering 
in  the  breeze.  At  the  same  instant  the  figure 
turned  and  down  the  bleached,  blue  back  of  it 
waved  a  jet-black  pigtail.  The  apparition  van- 
ished behind  the  rocks  and  Tevis  sat  staring. 

1 '  What  is  it  f"  she  cried. 

"Nothing,"  he  replied  reassuringly.  "That  is 
— it  may  have  been  some  animal.  Wait  here  a 
moment  and  I'll  go  and  see."  He  hastened  along 
the  beach  to  the  point  of  rocks.  He  reflected  that 
if  the  pigtail  belonged  to  one  of  the  On  Yick  men 
it  might  be  that  the  junks  were  in  some  cove  above 
them  where  their  divers  were  at  work,  and  it  was 
likely  that  the  Mongolian  was  spying  upon  the 
yacht  and  her  men.  But  when  he  came  to  the 
point  and  scrambled  around  it,  just  out  of  reach  of 
the  surf,  he  saw  nothing  but  another  long  stretch 
of  sand,  walled  in  by  rocky  scarps  or  rounded 
dunes  on  which  stood  lonely  clumps  of  cacti.  Of 
any  vestige  of  human  or  other  life  there  was  none. 


162  THE     SEA    HAWK 

He  looked  sharply  along  the  beach  for  the  prints 
of  sandals,  but  not  a  track  was  visible,  and  no- 
where among  the  rocks  could  he  find  a  trace  of  the 
man  in  the  blue  blouse. 

He  puzzled  for  a  moment  over  the  swift  and 
complete  disappearance  of  the  figure.  After  all, 
it  might  have  been  a  mere  simulacrum,  attributa- 
ble to  his  loss  of  sleep;  and  yet  he  went  back  to 
Hazel  with  a  feeling  of  disquiet. 

"Did  you  see  your  animal!"  she  asked. 

"No,"  he  replied.  "It  must  have  whisked  in 
among  the  rocks.  He  stood  beside  her  for  a  mo- 
ment, glancing  uneasily  at  the  place  where  the 
vision  had  appeared.  Isn  't  it  time  we  were  getting 
back  to  Mrs.  Thrale  and  her  shells  1"  He  started 
up  hastily  and  added  in  a  light  tone  to  conceal  his 
anxiety.  "Wouldn't  you  like  to  race  back?  Such 
a  jvalker  as  you  must  be  a  good  runner.  I'll  give 
you  a  start  as  far  as  that  big  abalone  we  saw  down 
there  and  we  '11  race  back  to  the  gig.  Come,  run ! 
You  like  to  run,  I  know." 

"Very  well,  I'll  race  with  you,  but  I  don't  want 
more  than  half  that  much  start." 

She  tripped  down  the  beach  a  little  way. 

* '  One — two — three — go ! "  he  cried,  and  she  was 
off  with  whisking  skirts,  and  tossing  hair,  run- 
ning like  a  fleet  filly,  her  trim,  lithe  figure  flying 
over  the  sand.  He  had  not  thought  much  of  the 
race  as  a  race,  his  only  idea  being  to  get  her  away 
from  the  place  as  quickly  and  unsuspiciously  as 
possible,  but  had  he  counted  on  an  easy  victory 


A  RACE  ON  THE  BEACH  163 

in  outrunning  her,  he  would  have  been  disappoint- 
ed. For  she  was  free  of  limb  as  an  Arab,  and  her 
flying  feet  seemed  hardly  to  touch  the  ground.  He 
buckled  down  to  the  race,  and  might  not  have  won 
it,  but  for  the  fact  that  he  ran  his  very  best,  being 
determined  not  to  be  outstripped  in  the  dash.  For 
while  a  man  may  permit  a  girl  to  win  at  chess  or 
even  at  tennis,  he  must  not  let  her  distance  him  in 
a  footrace.  As  it  was,  however,  his  victory  was 
slim  enough,  for  he  touched  the  nose  of  the 
deserted  gig  only  a  yard  or  two  ahead  of  her. 

Laughing  and  panting,  she  sat  upon  the  tilted 
gunwale  of  the  boat,  her  face  flushed  and  her  hair 
in  sweet  disarray. 

"  You  see,"  she  cried,  "I  didn't  need  to  be  given 
much  handicap. "  Her  fingers  patted  her  truant 
side  hair. 

"I  could  say  something  about  your  running/' 
he  said,  sitting  down  beside  her  on  the  edge  of  the 
boat, i  'but  you  made  light  of  my  pearl  compliment, 
so  I  shan't  venture  one  on  your  fleetness." 

"Did  I  make  light  of  it?"  she  said  in  a  soft, 
apologetic  tone.  "I  didn't  mean  to;  but  I  cion't 
like  compliments — they're  such  empty  things.  See 
what  a  lot  of  shells  they've  stacked  up  over  there ! 
The  Thrales  are  thrifty  pirates,  aren't  they!" 

The  flush  of  the  race  was  leaving  her  face  now, 
but  there  still  remained  here  and  there  under  the 
clear  skin  of  her  temples  those  azure  arborescences 
of  the  veins  which  told  of  her  good  blood.  Every- 
thing about  her  was  at  once  so  vigorous  and  so 


164  THE     SEA    HAWK 

exquisite  and  yet,  after  all,  the  air  of  the  metropo- 
lis clung  to  her  and  he  must  still  regard  her  as 
something  exotic;  and  of  course,  she  was  not  for 
him — such  divine  luck  as  that  was  beyond  a  man 
of  his  deserts. 

" About  the  bathing?"  he  asked.  "Shall  you 
be  taking  that  dip  you  spoke  of?" 

For  reply  she  shook  her  head  and  went  toward 
the  shell  pile  to  meet  Mrs.  Thrale,  who  was  hover- 
ing about  her  treasures.  Within'half  an  hour  they 
rowed  back  to  the  yacht. 

All  the  boats  were  coming  back,  the  m'en  sodden 
and  sleepy  after  their  long  night's  work.  Beach- 
ing the  deck  of  the  yacht,  Tevis  went  immediately 
to  his  room  and  to  bed;  but  it  was  hours  before 
sleep  came,  and  then  it  was  but  fitful,  so  thorough- 
ly had  his  whole  animate  being  been  wakened  by 
what  had  happened  on  the  beach. 

"I  say,  my  dear,"  said  Sir  Charles  when  he 
found  his  fiancee  in  the  little  book-lined  alcove  off 
the  saloon,  "you  seem  to  be  wonderfully  interested 
these  days." 

"Interested?"  She  looked  up  from  her  book. 
"No,  this  is  an  awfully  stupid  story — one  of  your 
dull  English  novels  in  which  sporting  lords  and 
and  ladies  are  taken  so  seriously." 

"Well,  why  aren't  they  to  be  taken  seriously?" 
he  asked  in  his  heavy  accents.  "But  I  wasn't 
thinking  of  books.  What  I  refer  to  is  your  being 
constantly  in  company  with  that  electrician." 


A  RACE  ON  THE  BEACH  165 

"Mr.  Tevis?"  She  laughed.  "Am  I  supposed 
to  reply  to  that  absurdity  ?" 

"You  are,''  he  said  heavily. 

"Very  well,  I  can  dispose  of  it  quickly  enough. 
It  isn't  so." 

"But  you  were  ashore  with  him  just  now,  and  I 
witnessed  through  the  glass  from  the  deck  of  this 
yacht  the  undignified  spectacle  of  my  fiancee — the 
future  Lady  Walden — running  on  the  beach  with  a 
common  electrician." 

"I  was  running  on  the  beach,"  fired  the  girl 
with  rising  color;  "not  with  a  common  electrician, 
however,  but  with  an  uncommon  American  gentle- 
man, who  happens  to  be  an  electrical  engineer, 
graduated  from  one  of  the  best  colleges  in  the 
country." 

"Oh,  in  your  queer  nation  I  fancy  almost  any- 
body passes  for  a  gentleman,"  said  Walden,  with  a 
toss  of  his  great  round  head;  "but  that  isn't  the 
point.  The  point  is" — he  extended  a  large  red 
forefinger — "the  point  is  that  you  are  not  to  be 
in  his  company  so  much.  I  object  to  it.  I  have  a 
right  to  object." 

"I  don't  deny  your  right,"  she  said  wearily 
closing  the  book  and  putting  it  back  on  the  shelf. 
1 '  I  am,  as  you  have  just  reminded  me,  your  fiancee 
— the  future  Lady  Walden.  If  I  have  been  un- 
dignified I  regret  it.  But  I  don't  mind  telling  you 
I  have  just  enjoyed  a  happy  hour." 

"Then  you  like  that  young  bounder — you  love 
him?" 


166  THE     SEA    HAWK 

"  Enough !"  she  cried  warningly,  her  color 
mounting.  "I  hate  scenes  and  you  know  it.  I'll 
not  wrangle  with  you.  I  am, ' '  she  said  despairing- 
ly, her  voice,  dying  almost  to  a  whisper,  "the  fu- 
ture Lady  Walden." 

"That's  right,"  he  said,  smiling  so  that  he 
showed  his  large,  white  front  teeth.  "We  won't 
quarrel."  And  he  went  away. 

She  reached  forth  her  hand  for  another  book, 
took  it  down  and  laid  it  in  her  lap.  But  she  did 
not  open  it,  only  sat  there  quietly,  chin  in  hand. 
Soon  her  shoulders  quivered  a  little,  and,  turning, 
she  bent  her  head  down  against  the  pillowed  back 
of  the  chair,  her  bosom  heaving  while  she  sobbed 
low.  "Of  course,"  she  admitted  weakly,  "he  has 
a  right  to  object. " 

The  afternoon  was  hot,  Tevis'  little  cabin  was 
stuffy  and  his  pillow  was  moist  under  his  head 
when  he  awoke,  but  he  felt  fresh  and  fit  for  an- 
other night's  work.  As  the  generators  were  now 
in  good  condition  and  his  assistant  understood  the 
signals  perfectly,  he  was  determined  that  nothing 
should  keep  him  away  from  the  picturesque  end  of 
the  operations  any  longer.  So  after  dinner,  which 
was  really  breakfast  to  him,  he  made  it  clear  to 
the  Captain  that  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  go  out 
in  the  boats  that  night  and  gain  a  better  idea  of 
the  needs  of  the  lighting  service.  He  said  nothing 
to  Thrale  about  the  bloused  and  bowl-hatted  figure 
he  had  seen  on  the  island,  for  his  elusive  coolie 


A  RACE  ON  THE  BEACH  167 

now  seemed  impossible  to  him.  His  imagination, 
he  thought,  had  doubtless  been  tricked  by  one  of 
those  mystic  mirage  effects  for  which  the  Gulf 
shores  were  famous. 

When  night  closed  in  and  the  divers  had  donned 
their  suits,  he  went  out  in  the  first  boat  to  leave 
the  yacht.  In  this  boat  were  Jose,  who  wore  the 
helmet,  and  four  Swedes,  all  very  handy  men, 
among  them  being  a  white-haired  young  giant 
named  Pederson,  who  worked  the  air  machine.  The 
night  was  still,  and  from  the  cliffs  came  from  time 
to  time  that  peculiar  hum  or  subdued  roar  which  is 
so  like  to  the  sound  of  telegraph  wires  in  the  wind. 
These  lonely  notes,  intermitting  between  the  sobs 
of  the  surf,  made  doleful  music,  which  the  Swedes 
referred  to  conclusivly  as  the  songs  of  drowned 
men. 

"Ay  no  gif  a  damn  for  deesen  Half -Moon  Bay," 
said  Pederson  when  upon  the  pulling  in  of  the  oars 
the  stillness  was  broken  of  a  sudden  by  the  ghostly 
moans  from  the  cliffs.  "Ay  bin  tell  Captain  Drale 
Ay  dank  ve  don't  haf  no  luck  here,  and  yoost  re- 
member dot." 

' '  Oh,  Pederson, ' '  protested  Tevis,  for  it  seemed 
to  him  unfortunate  that  superstition  should  be- 
gin to  work  its  sinister  influence  among  the  men 
so  early  in  the  enterprise.  "That's  probably 
nothing  but  the  echo  from  the  sea." 

"Ay  know  dose  echoen  vot  you  call,"  persisted 
Pederson,  "but  dose  ain't  bin  no  echoen — dose  bin 
something.  Ay  bin  hear  in  vun  fjord  in  Norskland 


168  THE    SEA    HAWK 

dose  noisen.  Dot  fjord  bin  full  of  mans  vot  is  dead 
an'  maken  more  dead.  An'  so  in  deesen  Half- 
Moon,  Ay  dank  so,  too." 

The  other  Swedes  nodded  grave  assent.  But 
upon  Jose,  who  was  a  Mexican  and  had  cruised  all 
up  and  down  the  coast,  these  utterances  of  the 
doleful  Swedes,  made  no  impress.  The  men  had 
helped  Jose  off  with  his  helmet  that  he  might  enjoy 
one  more  cigarette  before  his  descent  into  the 
depths,  and  he  sat  heavily  in  his  rubber  garb, 
smoking  like  a  furnace.  When  the  air  machine 
had  been  pumped  up  and  the  cable  had  been  un- 
coiled a  little  from  the  reel,  Pederson  fastened  on 
the  helmet  again,  and  said  with  a  sigh : 

"Ay  leekady  hopen  he  dond  bin  meetin'  some 
dead  mans  down  below  to-night,  anyhow.  Aber  he 
do,  Ay  dank  he  vill  bin  dead,  too,  yoost  leekady 
oder  mans. ' ' 

It  was  a  lugubrious  send-off  for  a  man  about  to 
go  down  into  fifteen  fathoms  of  water,  but  Jose 
went  over  with  a  splash,  the  big  round  eyes  of  the 
helmet  giving  forth  a  great  glassy  stare  in  the 
starlight  just  as  they  disappeared. 

Tevis  signalled  for  the  switching  on  of  the  cur- 
rent and  of  a  sudden  the  sea  beneath  them  flashed 
into  a  wonderfully  lucent  green,  streaming  away 
on  all  sides  with  a  pale  and  still  paler  gray.  The 
boat  swam  in  a  great  luminous,  ragged  patch  of 
water,  through  which  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  though 
many  feet  below,  showed  plainly.  They  had  the 
sensation  of  being  in  an  air-boat  rather  than  in  a 


A  RACE  ON  THE  BEACH  169 

water-craft,  so  transparent  was  the  element  in 
which  they  floated.  From  time  to  time  strange 
little  circles  of  light  detached  themselves  from  the 
central  radiance  and  mounted  swiftly  to  the  sur- 
face. These  were  bubbles  of  air  from  the  outlet 
valve  of  the  helmet. 

Down  on  the  bottom,  under  the  light  that  shone 
from  his  head,  Jose  walked  about  as  though  he 
were  ashore,  his  dark  body  showing  weirdly 
through  shifting  beams  of  light  and  his  arms  and 
legs  straggling  forth  grotesquely.  The  boat  in  the 
middle  of  its  perspicuous  little  pool,  followed  the 
slowly  moving  diver,  stern  foremost,  thus  keeping 
him  better  in  view  than  if  he  had  been  under  the 
bow. 

One  of  the  side  lines  swished  violently,  sending 
forth  long  gleams  of  light  as  it  cut  through  the 
water. 

"Haul  avay !"  called  Pederson,  and  up  came  the 
wire  basket,  piled  high  with  shells,  coruscating 
phosphorescently  as  it  dripped  over  the  side.  The 
shells  clattered  into  the  boat  and  the  basket  shot 
twinkling  down. 

This  for  an  hour  or  two  and  then  Tevis  jerked 
the  wire  as  a  signal  for  Jose  to  come  up,  which  he 
did  with  astonishing  celerity — the  body  lines  being 
yanked  in  by  one  of  the  men.  No  sooner  was  his 
helmet  off  than  a  cigarette  was  pressed  between 
his  lips  and  lighted  by  the  obliging  Pederson  who 
had  been  trained  to  this  valuable  service.  Then 
the  men  helped  him  off  with  the  rest  of  the  clumsy 


170  TH-E     SEA    HAWK 

suit,  for  Tevis  had  decided  to  give  the  diver  a 
breathing  spell,  by  taking  a  turn  below.  They 
pulled  the  clumsy  folds  of  rubber  over  him. 

"Bemember,  senor,  your  feet  must  keep  to  the 
bottom, ' '  cautioned  Jose,  as  the  helmet  was  raised 
for  adjustment.  '  *  The  rocks  they  slip  and  you  are 
light  down  there — so  light  as  the  cork. ' ' 

It  requires  no  little  determination  to  make  one's 
first  descent  into  the  sea  in  a  diving  dress,  even 
though  it  be  in  the  bright  sunshine,  but  in  the  thick 
dark  of  a  moonless  night,  one  must  have  the  ad- 
venture well  at  heart,  or  one  will  back  out  like  a 
crab.  Tevis  had  in  mind,  however,  the  cheering 
light  that  would  flash  from  his  globe  as  soon  as  the 
water  closed  over  him;  so  that  when  through  his 
rubber  wrappage  he  felt  the  quick  chill  of  the 
sea,  he  was  not  terrified. 

It  seemed  a  long  time,  however,  before  the  inky 
element  all  around  and  above  him  flashed  forth  in 
the  blinding  light  of  the  hundred-candle-power 
lamp.  His  feet,  which  had  been  dangling  inanely 
as  if  in  the  air,  now  touched  softly  upon  the 
bottom. 

Standing  still  a  moment,  he  looked  around 
through  his  great  plate-glass  eyes.  He  was  in  a 
cavern  of  light,  walled  vaguely  by  a  gray  liquid 
that  seemed  ready  to  fall  in  and  engulf  him,  and 
this  cavern  was  floored  by  great  rocks,  covered  by 
strange  crusts  and  silent  masses  of  seaweed.  He 
felt  a  queer  pressure  on  his  temples,  his  breath 
was  difficult,  his  ears  sang,  and  now  and  then  he 


A  RACE  ON  THE  BEACH  171 

was  startled  by  the  strange  mutterings  of  the  out- 
let valve ;  but  he  was  filled  with  a  new  elation — the 
sense  of  a  wonderful  novelty.  An  immense  object, 
like  a  giant  beetle,  with  straddling  legs,  moved 
past,  coming  so  near  his  eyes,  that  he  started  back, 
nearly  losing  his  balance,  as  his  feet,  though 
weighted  with  lead,  were  strangely  light  and  un- 
governable, tending  all  the  time  to  point  upward. 
The  thing  he  had  seen  was  a  big  green  turtle,  that 
swam  slowly  away  in  the  darkness. 

He  seized  the  hook  and  attacked  a  scraggly  ob- 
ject sticking  to  a  rock.  It  came  away  readily 
enough,  and  looking  at  the  detached  thing  in  the 
strange  soft  light,  he  judged  that  it  was  of  the  kind 
of  treasure  he  was  seeking. 

There  were  plenty  of  the  mollusks  on  the  rocks ; 
many  of  them  were  loose  and  others  adhered  tight- 
ly. Tevis  worked  slowly  and  cautiously,  finally 
conquering  his  feet  so  that  he  could  move  them 
readily,  but  it  was  at  least  a  half  hour  before  his 
basket  was  filled.  He  pulled  the  rope  and  the  mass 
of  shells  flung  heavenward.  Then  he  gave  the 
signal  to  be  hoisted  and  was  up  by  the  side  of  the 
boat  in  the  befuddling  darkness,  feeling  the  friend- 
ly hands  of  the  Swedes  helping  him  in,  all  adrip 
and  full  of  the  exultance  of  life.  For  he  had  added 
to  his  experiences  a  strangely  uncommon  one,  and 
he  was  uncommonly  proud  of  it. 

The  helmet  was  taken  off  and  into  his  lungs 
rushed  the  soft,  hale  air  of  the  southern  sea.  For 
the  rest  of  the  night  he  helped  at  the  lines  or  sat 


172  THE     SEA    HAWK 

still  and  drank  in  the  weird  beauty  of  the  unquiet 
sea  and  the  star-stilled  night;  the  low,  dark  waves, 
the  black  outline  of  the  range  that  topped  the 
island  and,  over  to  seaward,  the  quiet  hull  of  the 
yacht.  He  thought  of  Hazel,  asleep  in  her  cabin, 
and  he  wished  that  she  might  dream  of  the  two  of 
them  sitting  on  the  rock  by  the  seaside. 

A  low  dirge-like  moan  came  floating  over  the 
waves  from  the  cliff. 

6 '  Yoost  you  hear  dot ! ' '  groaned  Pederson.  ' i  Ay 
dank  ve  don't  bin  aben  some  luck  in  deesen  place. 
Dose  dead  mans  talken  too  much  allady  time.  Dee- 
sen  place  no  good  only  for  dead  mans.  Dot's  vot 
Ay  dank. " 

The  diving  ceased  at  midnight,  as  Mrs.  Thrale 
would  permit  no  work  on  Sunday,  and  the  men 
went  back  to  the  yacht  and  to  their  berths.  Tevis 
stretched  himself  out  in  bed,  with  an  electrical 
lamp  at  his  head,  and  read  for  an  hour  from  a  book 
Hazel  had  lent  him.  It  was  "  Middlemareh, "  her 
favorite  novel;  but  though  he  tried  to  share  her 
appreciation  of  it,  he  found  himself  dozing,  and 
soon  fell  soundly  asleep,  the  book  in  his  hand. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

HOW  THE  TKEASURE  GEEW 

DAY  by  dreamy  day,  in  that  soft-aired  summer 
time,  while  the  sea  lay  calm  and  blue  about  them 
and  the  low  island  breakers  chanted  their  endless 
circle  of  song;  day  by  day,  while  the  sun  stabbed 
down  upon  the  awnings  or  sank  into  the  purple 
glory  of  the  evening  sea,  the  white  yacht  lay-to  in 
the  little  bay  and  swung  to  her  anchor-chain  in  the 
shifting  tides  that  crept  slowly  up  over  the  white 
beach,  or  left  it  lying  wet  and  dark  in  long,  wide 
reaches  over  which  the  sea  birds  squawked  and 
shrilled  in  their  flighty  circuits;  and  night  after 
night  the  boats  went  out  and  the  divers  went  down 
and  came  up,  and  the  shell  piles  grew  upon  the 
shore. 

For,  despite  the  gloomy  foreshadowings  of  the 
Swedes,  they  had  prodigious  success  on  the  banks 
in  Half-Moon  Bay,  and  seemed  in  a  fair  way  to 
fulfill  the  dreams  of  the  Thrales.  Test  washes 
made  from  time  to  time  disclosed  the  fact  that  the 
virgin  levels  they  had  been  working  upon  were  un- 
usually productive  of  rich  gems.  As  a  result  of 
the  tests,  Mrs.  Thrale  had  a  score  of  large  and 
beautiful  pearls,  of  perfect  shape,  wrapped  in  a 

173 


174  THE     SEA    HAWK 

piece  of  tissue  paper  which  Tevis  saw  her  take  out 
and  unfold  now  and  again  with  eyes  full  of  satis- 
faction. 

"You  know  they  say/'  he  heard  her  tell  Hazel 
while  he  was  repairing  an  electrolier  in  the  saloon, 
1  i  that  pearls  are  often  worth  more  than  diamonds. 
I've  seen  some  no  bigger  than  these  two  here,  that 
brought  twenty  thousand  apiece. ' ' 

"Those  large  pearls  are  certainly  very  beauti- 
ful/' said  Hazel.  "A  necklace  made  of  them 
would  be  priceless ! ' ' 

Mrs.  Thrale  wrapped  her  jewels  up  carefully  in 
the  tissue  paper,  and  put  them  in  a  little  buckskin 
bag.  "Wait  till  I  get  this  full,"  said  she,  with  a 
smile  of  cupidity.  "Then  I  guess  we  won't  have 
to  work  any  more." 

"Do  you  think  people  are  any  happier  if  they 
don't  work?"  asked  Hazel. 

"You  ought  to  know,"  replied  Mrs.  Thrale,  with 
a  meaning  look. 

i  t  Yes, ' '  sighed  the  girl.  ' '  I  have  led  an  idle  life, 
though  I  still  mean  to  do  something.  The  trouble 
is  there  isn't  much  that  girls  in  my  position  can 
do.  But -a  man  can  work.  See  how  busy  Mr.  Tevis 
is." 

"Mr.  Tevis  doesn't  hurt  himself  by  hard  labor 
on  this  trip,"  said  he,  laughing.  "Everything  is 
running  smoothly  now."  As  he  looked  at  her  he 
was  conscious  of  an  effort  to  keep  his  fondness  for 
her  out  of  his  eyes.  * 

"Yes;  but  you  are  responsible  for  something," 


HOW  THE  TREASURE  GREW         175 

said  she,  as  Mrs.  Thrale  took  her  treasures  to  her 
room.  "I'd  give  anything  for  a  little  responsi- 
bility." 

' '  Maybe  Mrs.  Thrale  would  let  you  take  care  of 
her  pearls. ' '  He  smiled  after  the  retreating  figure 
with  the  buckskin  bag.  "A  lady  purser  would  be 
just  the  thing  on  a  steamer  like  this/1 

"Yes;  but  Mrs.  Thrale  is  purser  herself,"  said 
she.  "Is  that  the  anchor  coming  up?  It  sounds 
like  it.  Well,  I'm  glad  to  be  moving  even  if  it's, 
only  around  to  the  next  cove." 

"Yes,  it's  the  anchor,"  he  replied.  "We've 
fished  them  all  out  of  here.  I  heard  the  Captain 
say  we'd  be  moving  along  before  night." 

"I'm  glad  to  get  away  from  Half -Moon  Bay," 
she  said  after  a  moment.  "I  mean  the  sailors' 
omens — their  superstitious  fears  of  something  ter- 
rible impending  here.  They  have  made  me  uncom- 
fortable. And  then  out  at  the  lower  point — your 
anxiety  to  get  me  back  to  the  boats  before  some- 
thing happened. ' ' 

"Surely  you  couldn't  have  guessed  there  was 
anything  unusual  in  my  mind. ' '  He  looked  at  her 
questioningly. 

"Oh,  no,"  she  laughed.  "Didn't  you  observe 
how  readily  I  fell  in  with  your  idea  of  the  race? 
I  was  racing  away  from  your  bugaboo,  whatever 
it  was." 

"So  you  saw  through  my  scheme  and  yet  said 
nothing?"  he  remarked,  smiling.  "Well,  it's  hard 


176  THE    SEA    HAWK 

to  get  ahead  of  a  girl  of  to-day,  even  in  a  foot-race. 
But  did  you  see  anything  on  the  beach?" 

"Yes;  I  saw  the  careful  way  you  were  conceal- 
ing something  from  me.  What  was  it  ? ' ' 

"I  really  couldn't  say  what  it  was  myself,"  he 
said.  "It  was  nothing  to  be  much  afraid  of,  I 
fancy. ' ' 

"More  duplicity,"  she  laughed.  "Well,  I'm 
used  to  it  in  men. ' ' 

"And  not  in  women?" 

"I  didn't  mention  women,"  she  said  lightly. 
1  '  They,  of  course,  come  in  for  some  of  it.  But  one 
can't  read  them  as  one  can  men.  I  think  I  can  tell 
when  a  man  is  fibbing.  They're  all  so  unconscious- 
ly frank  with  women. ' ' 

"I  suppose  that,  from  a  woman's  fine  stand- 
point, men  are  bungling  creatures, ' '  said  he.  i  '  But 
can  you  read  what  a  man  thinks  of  you — how 
deeply  he  cares  for  you ! ' ' 

"Oh,  when  it  comes  to  such  matters,"  she  said 
with  an  effort  at  gayness  which  was  less  a  failure 
than  his  own,  "I  confess  I  am  in  the  dark.  I've 
never  been  schooled  in  affairs  of  the  heart. ' ' 

"But  you  must  have  seen  that  every  man  aboard 
this  yacht  is  in  love  with  you." 

' t  How  ridiculous ! ' '  said  she,  laughing. 

"It  would  be  ridiculous  if  they  were  not." 

"You  don't  mean  that,"  she  said  with  fine  gravi- 
ty though  evidently  not  much  displeased. 

"I  do,  too,"  he  insisted,  in  further  proof  of 


HOW  THE  TREASURE  GREW         177 

man 's  capacity  for  bungling.  l  '  How  can  they  help 
it!" 

Her  blush  deepened. 

"Oh,  here's  Port!"  she  said  as  the  white  cat 
entered  the  room,  as  if  to  afford  her  the  needed 
diversion.  She  picked  up  the  fuzzy  animal  and 
nestled.it  close  to  her  cheek.  ' '  I  thought  it  was  the 
strangest  sight  I  ever  saw  on  shipboard — Mrs. 
Thrale  sitting  in  her  old  rocking  chair,  the  one  she 
brought  from  the  schooner,  with  this  cat  in  her 
lap  and  her  feet  on  a  braided  rug,  rocking  back  and 
forth  and  singing  '  Shall  We  Gather  at  the 
River  r  " 

"She's  unique,  isn't  she?"  said  Tevis.  He 
twisted  the  last  bulb  into  the  electrolier  and  went 
on  deck,  followed  by  the  girl. 

"Why,"  she  cried,  "we're  under  sail!  Isn't 
the  yacht  pretty,  with  her  canvas  all  set?" 

"She  is  that,"  said  Captain  Thrale,  coming 
around  to  their  side  of  the  house.  "Seems  like  I 
was  aboard  the  old  schooner  again.  She  takes  the 
wind  pretty  fair,  and  it  saves  coal. ' ' 

1 1  What  about  the  shells  we  're  leaving  behind  1 ' ' 
asked  Tevis,  his  phantom  Mongol  looming  up 
again.  ' l  Are  they  safe  there,  Captain  f ' ' 

"Oh,  yes ;  safe  enough,"  was  the  confident  reply, 
"though  Mrs.  Thrale  hated  to  leave  'em,  even  for 
so  short  a  time.  You  see, "  he  said  in  his  most  con- 
fidential tone,  "if  they  wash  out  like  the  tests 
we've  made,  there's  easily  thirty  thousand  dollars' 
worth  of  pearls  there." 


178  THE     SEA    HAWK 

Tevis'  quick  mental  arithmetic  gave  him  his 
share  as  fifteen  hundred  dollars,  more  money  than 
he  had  had  at  one  time  since  his  father's  failure. 

"Yes,"  said  he,  taking  a  sudden  interest  in  the 
leaving  behind  of  the  pearls,  "it's  no  wonder  Mrs. 
Thrale  is  anxious.  Are  they  being  guarded?" 

"Oh,  yes,"  said  the  Captain.  "I  left  two  well- 
armed  men  back  there  on  guard,  Ole  Ek  and  Lars 
Larsen.  They're  good  safe  men." 

"Well,  I  don't  know,"  remarked  Tevis.  "I  don't 
like  that  plan  of  leaving  treasure  behind  there  for 
the  first  beach-combers  that  come  along  to  make 
off  with." 

"But  they  weren't  rotted  enough,"  declared 
Thrale.  ' '  And  we  '11  be  back  to  Half-Moon  before 
long.  They  're  safe  there  with  Ole  and  Lars. ' ' 

Tevis  walked  aft  with  Hazel  who  had  been 
standing  aside.  As  they  looked  astern  after  the 
yacht  had  rounded  the  first  point  they  could  see 
upon  the  cliff  the  rough  outline  of  a  forehead,  nose 
and  chin,  which  the  sailors  called  "Grandma's 
Face." 

"It  looks  like  Mrs.  Thrale 's  profile,"  said  Hazel 
quietly  to  Tevis.  "See  that  nose  and  that  brow." 

"There  is  a  resemblance,"  affirmed  Tevis,  "but 
the  artist  hasn't  flattered  her." 

They  sailed  slowly  along  within  easy  hailing 
distance  of  the  arid  island.  About  three  miles  to 
the  north  of  Grandma's  Face  they  rounded  a  low 
breezy  headland,  and  there,  in  an  open  bay,  to 
their  great  surprise,  lay  the  junks,  with  their  small 


HOW  THE  TREASURE  GREW         179 

boats  flocking  about  them,  full  of  Chinese.  The 
yacht  ran  close  in  before  those  aboard  her  were 
aware  of  the  presence  of  the  junk  or  the  Chinamen 
could  note  the  coming  of  the  vessel.  Gongs  were 
booming  out  from  the  boats,  while  a  long  succes- 
sion of  vocal  minor  notes  rang  out  over  the  water, 
sounding  like  an  incantation. 

'  <  That 's  for  sharks, '  '  said  the  Captain.  * '  Guess 
they've  got  no  diving  suits,  for  there  comes  a  fel- 
low up  out  of  the  water,  with  none  on." 

"And  there's  another!"  cried  Flamel.  "It's 
all  old-fashioned  diving.  Don't  see  a  single  helmet 
among  'em." 

*  '  Then  they  can 't  be  On  Yick  men ! ' '  declared  the 
Captain  of  a  sudden.  "I  thought  it  was  kind  of 
funny,  for  they  told  me  On  Yick  began  the  season 
away  up  to  Angel  de  la  Guarda,  and  worked  down 
here  in  the  fall.  That's  what  I  was  counting  on 
when  I  struck  Espiritu.  And  I  thought  On  Yick 
had  better  boats,  too." 

"See  'em  scramble  in!"  piped  Mrs.  Thrale. 
' '  They  're  pulling  back  to  the  junks. ' '  She  put  her 
glass  to  her  eyes.  "They're  scared  of  us.  I  see 
one  of  'em  running  around  with  a  gun — the  ugly 
heathen!" 

"I'll  tell  you  what  they  are,"  cried  the  Captain. 
"They're  poachers!  That's  what  they  are.  I 
might  a-known  it  before." 

"Poachers!"  repeated  Mrs.  Thrale.  "Well,  I 
should  think  if  they  could  work  in  the  daytime,  we 
could,  too.  You  always  was  too  cautious,  Jim." 


180  THE    SEA    HAWK 

"How  do  you  know  but  we'll  work  by  dayligh't' 
after  a  while,  when  we  get  up  north  V  retorted 
Thrale.  *  *  We  're  down  here  now,  right  in  the  track 
of  the  La  Paz  boats.  We  can't " 

"They're  getting  up  sail,"  broke  in  Mrs.  Thrale. 
"Land  sakes !  What  funny  sailors !  See  'em  pull- 
ing on  that  sheet  and  all  falling  over  each  other." 

Up  went  the  great  lug-sail  of  the  nearest  junk, 
which  tacked  away  to  leeward  of  the  yacht,  and 
then  pointed  her  high  bow  straight  out  to  sea.  The 
others  quickly  followed. 

"Wonder  where  they're  going!"  said  Mrs. 
Thrale,  her  hawk-eyes  staring  after  them.  "We 
scared  'em  out  all  right. ' ' 

* l  They  probably  take  us  for  a  Mexican  cruiser. ' ' 
Thrale  smiled.  He  was  the  kind  of  man  who,  being 
easily  frightened  himself,  most  appreciates  cre- 
ating panic  in  others.  "This  looks  like  a  mighty 
good  place  for  pearls.  Not  very  sheltered,  but 
clear  of  rocks.  Guess  here 's  where  we  anchor,  and 
if  they  come  back,  we'll  run  up  the  Mexican  flag 
and  scare  the  barnacles  off  'em." 

"Aw!"  drawled  Sir  Charles,  "another  of  those 
nasty,  boresome  waits;  no  doubt  it  will  be  as  bad 
as  Half-Moon  Bay;  and  there's  nobody  aboard  that 
plays  bridge.  Gad,  if  Dumble  and  Braisted  and 
Phelps  were  only  here !  By  Jove !  This  does  beat 
the  Dutch  for  a  stupid  cruise!" 

He  and  Hazel  engaged  in  a  lifeless  colloquy  in 
their  steamer  chairs  for  a  half  hour,  and  then  he 
went  below,  leaving  her  alone  on  deck. 


HOW  THE  TREASURE  GREW        181 

When  he  appeared  at  the  dinner  table  a  few 
liours  later,  he  was  very  red-f  acd  and  as  loquacious 
as  a  village  spinster.  Thrale,  who  had  been  going 
in  and  out  of  the  baronet's  stateroom,  was  also 
given  to  light  remarks  on  everything  going.  Some 
of  Sir  Charles '  stories  at  dessert  time  were  rather 
broad,  and  Tevis  had  to  keep  up  a  running  fire  of 
talk  on  his  side  to  drown  out  his  reckless  speech. 
This  angered  Walden,  and  they  came  to  words,  in 
the  midst  of  which  Hazel  left  the  table.  To  smooth 
matters  over,  Thrale  began  to  tell  a  story  on  his 
own  account — a  pointless  tale  at  the  close  of  which 
he  laughed  loudly.  But  Mrs.  Thrale  did  not  laugh. 
She  sat  with  her  sharp  elbows  on  the  cloth  and  her 
hands  under  her  boney  cheeks,  looking  closely  at 
her  husband  across  the  board.  It  was  a  strange 
scrutiny.  At  the  end  of  another  of  his  inane  yarns, 
at  which  he  laughed  more  immoderately  than  be- 
fore, she  observed  in  tones  as  hard  as  a  xylo- 
phone 's : 

* '  Captain  Thrale,  if  I  hadn't  with  my  own  hands 
thrown  the  last  bottle  of  that  devil 's  stuff  into  the 
sea,  I'd  say  you'd  been  drinking.  As  for  the  lord, 
I  can't  tell  it  on  him.  But  what  makes  you  so 
silly!  I  s'pose  it's  because  you're  so  glad  them 
Chinamen  got  out  of  this  cove,  without  bothering 
us.  I  wish,  Jim,  you  wouldn't  go  to  pieces  over 
nothing." 

After  dinner  Tevis  saw  Hazel  sitting  aft,  look- 
ing moodily  toward  the  dull  shore,  and  up  to  the 
central  peaks,  purpled  by  the  sinking  sun.  He 


182  THE    SEA    HAWK 

knew  that  she  was  dejected  because  of  the  scene  at 
table,  and  he  wanted  to  go  over  to  her  and  cheer 
her,  but  he  felt  the  delicacy  of  her  position  and 
desisted  for  a  while.  When  finally,  he  made  bold 
to  approach  her,  she  fled  before  him  into  the  saloon 
and  to  her  own  room. 

He  could  cheerfully  have  gone  to  Sir  Charles 
and  choked  him  into  insensibility  for  having  so 
wounded  her  susceptible  sense,  but  he  bided  his 
time.  Beside,  he  argued  bitterly,  who  should 
espouse  the  cause  of  a  woman  against  her  affianced 
husband? 

"And  yet  the  brute  has  no  right !"  he  kept  say- 
ing over  and  over.  "It's  only  the  man  who  pro- 
tects her  from  insult — who  really  loves  her — that 
can  claim  that  right." 

This  self-persuasion  was  easy.  What  was  not 
easy  was  to  put  aside  the  barrier  which  separated 
him  from  Hazel  Braisted,  and  that  barrier  was 
Walden.  It  was  he  who  made  his  love  a  mocking 
futility.  Yet  he  knew  that  he  would  go  on  loving 
her  to  the  end  of  the  chapter. 

The  first  night's  work  in  the  new  cove  proved 
very  successful.  Indeed,  the  number  of  shells 
gathered  between  twilight  and  dawn  was  greater 
than  that  of  any  other  night's  haul  they  had  made. 
The  fresh  shells  were  taken  aboard  for  the  present. 

"I  guess  you  can  stand  the  smell  of  'em  for  a 
while,"  he  said  to  Sir  Charles.  "It's  no  worse 
than  some  of  that  cheese  Braisted  left  aboard." 

"That    Eoquefort?     Oh,  but  that's  different, 


HOW  THE  TREASURE  GREW         183 

don 't  you  know, ' '  said  Walden.  ' i  It 's  prime  stuff. 
But  I  suppose  when  we  go  to  sea  with  you  old 
pirates  we  have  to  bear  almost  anything." 

He  said  this  with  a  jocular  air.  Ever  since  the 
affair  of  the  bottles  there  had  been  a  sort  of  com- 
raderie  between  him  and  Thrale.  Tevis  suspected 
that  they  were  enjoying  many  a  glass  togther  be- 
hind locked  doors. 

They  went  on  gathering  shells  and  stowing  them 
aboard,  with  the  intention  of  taking  them  back  to 
their  old  treasure  pile  as  soon  as  the  bank  should 
be  stripped  by  the  divers.  Once  or  twice  they  saw 
smoke  on  the  seaward  horizon,  evidently  from 
passing  steamers,  but  they  did  not  come  near  the 
yacht. 

One  clear  bright  afternoon  about  a  fortnight 
after  they  began  work  in  the  Chinamen's  cove, 
Thrale,  who  was  constantly  poking  about  the  sky- 
line with  his  glass,  made  out  three  strange  sails  to 
the  southeast,  and  a  little  later  he  declared  that 
they  were  the  junks  coming  back.  For  an  hour  or 
so  all  on  board  were  on  the  alert,  but  the  junks 
veered  off  to  the  westward  and  then  the  long  head- 
land to  the  south  obscured  them.  All  that  after- 
noon the  Captain  kept  nervously  pointing  his  glass 
to  the  south  and  from  time  to  time  he  shook  his 
fuzzy  head.  He  kept  talking  excitedly  to  Mrs. 
Thrale,  who  replied  after  her  own  peculiar  fashion. 

In  the  morning  after  the  last  boat  had  come  in 
with  its  load,  Tevis  saw  the  Captain  talking 


184  THE    SEA    HAWK 

earnestly  with  Flamel,  and  soon  afterward  the 
first  officer  came  over  to  him  and  said: 

"I'm  going  down  with  Pederson  and  Svenson 
to  the  shell  pile.  Old  man's  getting  anxious  about 
it.  Guess  his  wife  has  been  prodding  him  up,  she's 
been  so  worried  herself.  Want  to  go  along,  Tevis  1 
Going  to  take  the  launch.  You'd  come  in  handy  if 
her  sparker  got  out  of  whack." 

"Count  me  in,"  said  Tevis,  glad  of  a  change 
from  the  night-work  below  decks,  and  not  minding 
the  loss  of  a  forenoon's  sleep.  He  and  Flamel 
made  a  hasty  breakfast  of  coffee  and  rolls,  and 
then  stowed  some  rifles  aboard  the  launch,  together 
with  a  water  cask;  but  the  Swedes  ate  a  hearty 
meal  and  spent  an  unconscionably  long  time  at  it, 
so  that  the  last  stroke  of  eight  bells  was  sounding 
as  Tevis  turned  the  crank  over  in  the  trimmest 
little  launch  he  had  ever  smelled  gasoline  in.  They 
took  the  Captain's  gig  in  tow. 

Hazel  was  on  deck  to  wave  them  a  good-bye. 

"A  dandy  girl — that's  what  she  is!"  remarked 
Flamel  to  Tevis  as  he  returned  the  salute.  * t  Here, 
Tevis,  have  a  weed.  They're  pretty  dry,  but  they 
smoke  well." 

1 1  Thank  you. ' '  Tevis  took  a  cigar  and  lighted  it 
from  the  match  he  offered.  "And  now  maybe  you 
don't  mind  telling  me  what  we're  going  down  to 
Half-Moon  Bay  for,  and  why  we  have  brought 
along  the  arsenal ! ' ' 

"It's  the  old  woman's  idea,"  he  replied.  "She's 
awfully  cautious,  you  know,  and  she's  got  it  into 


HOW  THE  TREASURE  GREW         185 

her  nut  that  there  may  have  been  trouble  down 
there  for  Ole  and  Lars.  It's  the  junks  you  know. 
I  think  myself  it  was  a  fool  trick  to  leave  that  shell 
behind.  Ole  and  Lars  couldn't  make  much  of  a 
stand  against  a  lot  of  hatchetmen  like  that." 

"Ay  dank  maybe  is  so,"  said  Pederson,  shaking 
his  Viking  head,  while  his  white  brows  closed  over 
his  blue  eyes.  "Ay  bin  hear  dem  echoen  what  you 
call,  Master  Tevis.  Anoder  dimes  Ay  bin  hear 
dem.  Ay  dank  it  vas  someting — it  was  someting. ' ' 

The  other  Swede  moved  his  chin  affirmatively. 

"Look  here,  Pederson,  Svenson,  don't  cross  the 
dead  line  till  you  come  to  it.  Here,  smoke  up  and 
be  cheerful."  Flamel  handed  them  each  a  cigar 
which  they  took  and  lighted  solemnly.  ' '  And  don't 
throw  the  matches  into  the  boat.  When  there's 
gasoline  aboard  you  can't  be  too  careful." 

The  launch  flew  over  the  low  waves,  tipped  with 
lucent  gleams  from  the  morning  sun.  They  round- 
ed point  after  point,  running  close  inshore  to  get 
the  good  of  the  return  eddies,  for  the  tide  was 
against  them. 

"There  you  are,"  said  Flamel,  as  they  swung 
out  of  the  last  eddy  and  steered  seaward  to  clear 
a  kelp  patch.  i  l  There 's  Grandma 's  Face.  We  're 
making  it  in  less  than  an  hour,  and  will  be  back  by 
ten  and  turn  in  for  our  morning  snooze.  Gee !  I'm 
sleepy  enough!"  He  yawned  prodigiously,  and 
then  half -closed  his  eyes.  But  in  another  moment 
he  was  alive  and  subtly  alert,  with  every  sense 
astir.  For  just  as  the  launch  turned  the  little  cape 


186  THE    SEA    HAWK 

below  Grandma's  Face,  the  outermost  northern 
point  above  Half -Moon  Bay,  Pederson  called  out 
from  the  bow : 

6 '  Lookadare — lookady  Cheenamans !  All  going 
by  der  shell-pile.  Ay  yoost  bin  dinken  ve  see  um 
and  now  dey  dare  all  right." 

"Easy  there !"  cried  Flamel  softly.  "Put  on 
your  muffler,  Tevis !  Boys,  don't  make  any  noise ! 
Eun  her  in  behind  that  high  rock.  We'll  make  a 
sneak  on  'em  if  we  can.  Straight  in  behind  the 
rock!" 


PART  II. 

ALARUMS  AND  EXCURSIONS 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THE  HATCHETMEN 

As  THE  swell  was  light  they  were  able  to  ap- 
proach the  high  rock  islet  to  which  Flamel  pointed, 
but  the  strong  tide  threatened  to  carry  them  out 
into  view  of  the  Chinamen  again.  So  they  turned 
and  ran  the  launch  back  behind  the  Face  and  up 
to  the  first  cove  north — a  tiny  affair,  well  sheltered 
and  secure.  They  anchored  and  went  ashore  in 
the  gig  with  their  rifles,  leaving  Swenson  in  charge 
of  the  boat.  A  strip  of  gravel  beach  led  back  to 
the  point  below  the  Face,  and  there  they  skirted 
the  shore,  their  rifles  in  their  hands,  to  a  place 
where  they  could  spy  upon  the  invaders.  Flamel 
peered  past  the  rocky  wall : 

"They 're  at  it,  all  right/'  said  he.  " The  high- 
binders! They've  washed  out  nearly  all  of  'em. 
It's  a  lot  of  sport  to  stand  here  and  see  your  share 
of 'thirty  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  pearls  gobbled 
up  that  way,  ain't  it?" 

Tevis  looked  over  his  shoulder  and  along  the 
curve  of  the  beach  to  the  nook  in  the  rocks  where 
the  pearl  shells  had  been  cached.  Thirty  or  more 
repulsive-looking  Mongols  were  washing  out  the 

187 


188  THE    SEA    HAWK 

shells  in  pools  of  sea  water  which  stood  in  holes 
they  had  dug  in  the  sand  near  the  lower  end  of  the 
beach.  They  were  working  rapidly  and  had  evi- 
dently taken  out  nearly  all  of  the  pearls.  Some  of 
the  shells  were  being  carried  in  sacks  along  the 
beach  towards  their  boats.  Half  a  mile  away, 
down,  near  the  southern  end  of  the  cove,  the  three 
junks  bobbed  on  the  gentle  waves. 

' '  Yes,  it  is  pleasant, ' '  said  Tevis,  thinking  of  his 
fifteen  hundred  dollars.  ' l  The  pirates ! ' ' 

1 '  What 's  become  of  Ole  and  Lars ! ' '  said  Flamel. 
"Wonder  if  they  hiked  out  when  the  Chinks 
landed." 

"No !"  Pederson  was  shaking  his  head  and  mak- 
ing doleful  sounds  in  his  throat.  "Dey  bin  dead — 
dey  vas  dead  mans  now  for  dot.  Ole  Ek  vas  dead 
and  Lars  Larsen  vas  dead.  Dey  yoost  bin  dead  all 
right." 

"I  shouldn't  wonder  but  what  he's  right, 
Tevis."  Flamel  was  staring  hard  and  pointing 
into  some  cactus  clumps  near  the  shell  pile.  * '  See 
those  two  dark  things  lying  there,  sort  of  twisted 
up.  Can  you  make  'em  out?" 

"Yes;  they're  dead  right  enough,"  said  Tevis 
very  gravely.  i  l  Poor  Ole !  He  didn  't  like  the  cove 
— none  of  the  Swedes  liked  it. ' ' 

"No,  no!  It  vas  dose  dead  man's  songs  vot  Ay 
bin  hearen — dose  echoen  vot  you  call!"  wailed 
Pederson.  "An'  now  you  see  Ay  bin  tellen  true 
for  dot.  Ah,  Ole  Ek  vas  my  bruddern  as  leekady 
vas.  And  day  stealen  all  our  parl !  And  Ole  and 


THE  HATCHETMEN  189 

Lars  don't  get  no  shares.  Ay  dank  I  kill  some 
Cheenamans  yoost  now — dot 's  vot  Ay  dank. ' ' 

Eed-eyed  he  was  and  resolute.  He  raised  his 
rifle,  but  Flamel  pulled  it  down. 

* '  It  would  be  a  lot  of  fun  to  send  a  few  shots  in 
there, ' '  said  he,  ' '  and  see  'em  scatter.  But,  Peder- 
son,  we  can't  do  it.  They're  too  many  for  us.  They 
might  come  down  here  and  shoot  us  up  and  chop 
us  all  to  pieces  with  their  hatchets."  He  turned 
to  speak  to  Tevis. 

Wha-r-r!  Pederson's  rifle  barked  so  briskly, 
right  in  their  ears,  as  to  confound  them  for  an 
instant. 

"Here,  you  silly  Swede — what  the  devil  have 
you  done?"  Flamel  glared  at  Pederson. 

"Ay  dank  I  yoost  got  one!"  cried  Pederson. 
i  i  See  him  yump ! ' ' 

One  of  the  Mongols  danced  in  the  air  and 
plumped  down  upon  the  sands.  The  others  looked 
up  from  their  work,  affrighted,  and  some  of  them 
pointed  wildly  in  the  direction  of  the  white  men, 
while  three  who  were  armed  with  rifles  and  who 
were  evidently  acting  as  guards,  raised  their  weap- 
ons and  aimed  at  Pederson,  who  was  exposing  him- 
self excitedly  and  had  to  be  dragged  back  behind 
the  rocks. 

"Now  we're  in  for  it!"  said  Flamel.  "Keep 
your  heads  protected  and  aim  low  if  they  come. 
Here,  you  fool  Swede!  Stand  back,  or  they'll 
plug  you  sure." 


190  THE    SEA    HAWK 

Pederson 's  rifle  rung  out  again  and  he  shook  his 
shoulders  in  glee,  as  he  cried: 

"An  under  von  Ay  got — Ay  got  him  all  right. 
Dot's  two  for  Ole  and  Lars.  Now  Ay  get  an  under 
von,  you  see!  Dey  don'd  steal  my  parl  for  nod- 
ding, Ay  dank!" 

Zip!  zip!  phwatt!  The  bullets  flew  past  them  or 
flattened  against  the  rocks. 

Flamel  and  Tevis  answered  the  fire  briskly,  and 
Pederson  pumped  lead  like  mad. 

It  was  a  hot  fusillade  on  either  side,  but  it 
worked  no  great  injury,  for  those  of  the  Chinamen 
who  did  not  have  rifles  planked  themselves  down 
behind  the  shell  pile  while  the  others  sought  shelter 
among  the  rocks.  After  a  time  the  fire  of  the  junk 
men  became  fitful.  They  must  have  seen  that  they 
were  wasting  their  cartridges.  Soon  they  ceased 
firing. 

"There  they  go!"  Flamel  lowered  his  rifle. 
"They're  off  for  the  boats — and  they're  taking 
their  dead  Chinks  with  'em." 

"Yes  and  the  parl!"  groaned  Pederson,  "and 
Ay  got  hundred-dollar  share  in  dot. ' ' 

They  ran  out  from  behind  the  point  to  some 
low  rocks  near  the  shell-pile  and  dropping  down 
behind  it — fired  again  and  again,  while  the  scurry- 
ing coolies  made  off  to  the  junks.  Soon  the  lug- 
sails  were  slatting  under  the  fresh  moving  breeze 
and  the  ugly  craft  sailed  away. 

"Gone!"  groaned  Flamel.  "Why  couldn't  we 
have  headed  'em  off  some  way?" 


THE  HATCHETMEN  191 

"Gone!"  repeated  Tevis,  "and  taken  the  loot 
with  them." 

"Yes,  dey  vasn't  fifty  pound  of  shell  left  mit- 
outen  vashen.  And  my  hundred  dollar  all  gone !'"' 
Pederson  was  in  a  delirium  of  rage.  Eushing  down 
to  the  water's  edge  he  emptied  his  rifle  again  and 
again  at  long  range  at  the  disappearing  junks. 

"And  we  couldn't  do  a  thing  chasing  'em  in  the 
launch,"  despaired  Flamel.  "There's  so  many 
of  'em." 

"Yo-eee!  Yo-eee!"  the  Chinamen  yelled  back, 
grimacing,  taunting,  triumphant,  for  they  had  des- 
poiled the  Egyptians  and  had  secured  as  much  in 
this  one  haul  as  they  would  have  made  in  a  year's 
diving.  Tide  and  wind  favored  them  and  they 
were  soon  well  down  the  bay,  though  Pederson, 
still  lamenting  his  losses  in  blood  and  treasure, 
sent  shot  after  shot  over  the  water  in  the  wake 
of  the  high  stern  of  the  last  junk. 

Flamel  and  Tevis  gazed  hopelessly  at  the 
washed-out  shells  scattered  about  the  sands.  Wher- 
ever they  stepped  their  feet  crunched  them  and  the 
sound  was  an  empty,  mocking  one  to  the  two  men 
as  they  thought  of  their  shares  in  the  stolen  treas- 
ure. 

"Gee!"  cried  Flamel,  "this  will  break  Mrs. 
Thrale's  heart!  I  wish  I'd  stayed  here  with  the 
guards.  Of  course  they  surprised  them.  Where 
was  it  we  saw  those  things?" 

"Over  there  in  the  cactus  clumps,"  said  Tevis, 


192  THE     SEA    HAWK 

striding  forward  and  coming  suddenly  upon  the 
bodies  of  Ole  and  Lars. 

"Poor  chaps !"  cried  Flamel,  going  over  to  him. 
"Hey  there,  Pederson!"  he  shouted.  "Stop  your 
fool  firing  and  blubbering  about  your  lost  hundred 
dollars  and  come  up  here." 

Pederson  turned,  like  one  distraught,  turned 
again,  fired  one  more  shot  and  then  strode  up  to 
Flamel  muttering.  When  he  saw  the  hatchet- 
marked  bodies  of  his  compatriots  he  was  full  of 
grief  and  stood  helplessly  staring.  It  was  not 
until  Flamel  found  some  shovels  that  had  been  left 
by  the  Chinamen  in  their  haste,  and  put  one  cf 
them  into  his  hands  that  he  came  out  of  his  trance  - 
like  state. 

Then  he  set  to  work  fiercely  with  the  shovel, 
heaving,  gasping  and  sweating,  and,  with  the  help 
of  Tevis  and  Flamel,  soon  buried  the  bodies  of  the 
two  men  and  piled  stones  over  their  grave  to  keep 
off  the  coyotes. 

"Now/'  said  Flamel  when  they  rested  for  a 
moment  in  the  scant  shade  of  a  mesquit,  "  if  I  was 
boss  I  'd  take  the  launch  and  go  after  those  robbers 
and  see  where  they  hold  out.  They  must  have  a 
regular  camp  not  far  from  here — probably  on  this 
very  island  of  Espiritu.  If  we  could  locate  'em 
we  could  rally  a  lot  of  our  crew,  run  over  there, 
surprise  'em,  hold  'em  up  and  get  back  the  goods. ''' 

"Wouldn't  night  be  the  best  time  for  that?" 
asked  Tevis. 

"Yes.    Tell  you  what  you  do,  Tevis — you  take 


THE  HATCHETMEN  193 

the  launch  and  run  back  to  the  yacht,  and  report 
to  the  old  man.  Pederson  and  I  will  stay  here. 
And  there's  Swenson — send  him  over  here  from 
the  boat.  We'll  need  him  if  those  chaps  should 
happen  to  come  back. ' ' 

6 'All  right!"  Tevis  started  away,  calling  back 
over  his  shoulder:  " Don't  you  wish  you  had  the 
pleasure  of  reporting  this  to  Mrs.  Thrale?" 

"Lord  help  you!"  was  the  reply. 

On  the  way  back  to  the  boat  the  vision  of  his  pig- 
tail phantom  recurred  to  Tevis,  and  he  blamed 
himself  for  not  crediting  his  senses  with  its  reality. 
He  saw  now  that  he  should  have  reported  to  Cap- 
tain Thrale  what  he  had  seen  and  not  have  dis- 
missed the  matter  so  lightly. 

All  the  speed  that  was  in  the  launch — and  she 
was  good  for  ten  knots — he  got  out  of  her  on  that 
flying  run  back  to  the  yacht. 

"Merciful  me!"  gasped  Mrs.  Thrale  when  he 
reported  the  news  to  the  Captain  who  stared  at 
him  helplessly  out  of  the  cabin  window  and  blinked 
several  times  before  he  could  utter  a  word.  '  *  Jim 
Thrale,  didn't  I  tell  you?  Now,  see  what  you've 
done!  All  that  long,  hard  work  for  nothing!  I 
knew  they'd  do  it — I  told  you  so,  but  you  would 
stick  to  it  that  them  two  crazy  Swedes  could  take 
care  of  it.  Wasn't  rotted  enough !  Well,  they  were 
rotted  enough  for  the  Chinamen  to  wash  out.  Why 
couldn't  we  have  done  it!  I'd  like  to  know!  And 
now  they're  all  gone.  Thirty  thousand  dollars' 
worth  at  least  and  maybe  a  lot  more !" 


194  THE    SEA    HAWK 

"It's  not  all  gone/'  snuffed  the  Captain  crushed 
under  the  weight  of  his  good  woman's  words. 
"There's  the  shell." 

"Yes,  there's  the  shell!"  she  snapped  contemp- 
tuously. "What's  it  worth?  Three  or  four  thou- 
sand dollars  at  the  most.  And  we've  lost  thirty.'*' 

"Mr.  Flamel  suggests,"  said  Tevis  to  the  Cap- 
tain, impatient  because  of  the  delay,  "that  we  get 
right  after  them.  If  you'll  steam  back  to  Half- 
Moon " 

"Yes,  yes!"  clipped  out  the  Captain.     "Yes, 
we'll  do  that.    Up  anchor  there!"    He  turned  to- 
the  pipe  and  whistled  down  to  the  engineer.   t '  Get 
ready  to  start  her  up,  Mac !    Full  steam ! ' ' 

"Of  course  we've  got  to  get  after  'em/'  said 
Mrs.  Thrale.  "We  can  do  it — we  can  make  'em 
yield  up ;  that  is,  if  we  can  find  'em.  But  they  may 
sneak  out  of  our  way  in  some  hidden  cove  or  other. 
It's  a  shame — a  mean,  nasty  shame — that's  what 
it  is,  and  I  say  so." 

She  said  much  else  while  the  Searcher  was  get- 
ting under  way,  and  what  she  said  made  Tevis  feel 
sorry  for  the  unlucky  Captain  who  all  along  had 
thought  he  had  taken  ample  precaution  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  pearls. 

When  the  word  passed  about  the  yacht  that  the 
treasure  had  been  looted  by  the  Chinamen,  the 
petty  officers  and  the  crew,  highly  wrought  up  be- 
cause of  the  loss  of  their  "lays"  also  had  harsh 
criticisms  to  pronounce  upon  the  Captain,  and 
though  this  was  done  in  quiet,  the  master  of  the 


THE  HATCHETMEN  195 

yacht  could  see  by  their  dark  looks  and  their  in- 
different attention  to  orders  that  they  were  all 
incensed  against  him.  He  went  about  sighing  for 
a  while  and  then  locked  himself  up  in  his  cabin, 
while*  the  yacht  speeded  south. 

"It's  too  bad,"  said  Hazel  when  Tevis  told  her 
the  story  of  the  looted  shell-pile  as  she  sat  on  the 
after  deck  in  a  big  easy  chair  where  she  had  been 
talking  with  Sir  Charles.  ' '  Those  Chinamen  were 
real  pirates  after  all.  They  certainly  looked  their 
parts."  x 

"What  do  we  care?"  Walden  raised  his  shoul- 
ders disdainfully  and  looked  down  the  deck 
through  his  monocle.  "Serves  'em  jolly  well 
right.  You  know  what  I  think  of  'em." 

"And  you  lose  your  share,  too,  Mr.  Tevis!" 
'Hazel's  full  gaze  was  sympathetic. 

"Yes,  I  lose  my  share,"  he  said  in  as  careless 
a  tone  asihe-could  assume,  though  the  loss  had  been 
as  real  to  him  as  to  anyone  aboard  save  Mrs. 
Thrale.  '  *  But  it  was  only  a  little  matter  of  fifteen 
hundred  dollars,  that  is  if  the  tests  held  good. ' ' 

' '  Poor  Captain  Thrale ! "  she  said.  '  '  No  doubt 
he's  had  his  hauling-over  by  this  time." 

"I  wish  he'd  get  angry  and  chuck  that  old  cor- 
morant overboard, ' '  remarked  Sir  Charles. 

"Oh,  no,"  said  Hazel  smiling.  "We  couldn't 
get  along  without  Mrs.  Thrale.  She's  a  source  of 
infinite  delight.  Well,"  she  added  meditatively, 
"I  suppose  this  will  delay  us  still  further.  There'll 
be  more  pearls  to  gather  to  make  up  for  the  miss- 


196  THE    SEA    HAWK 

ing  ones."  She  sighed.  "If  only  I  could  get  a 
wireless  or  something  from  father,  I  wouldn't  care 
so  much." 

Tevis  did  not  tell  her  of  the  plan  of  pursuit  and 
recapture  which  might  mean  less  delay  than  she 
feared. 

Mrs.  Thrale  stood  on  the  bridge  with  the  Cap- 
tain when  they  steamed  into  Half -Moon  Bay  and 
Flamel  from  the  beach  waved  his  cap  to  them. 
The  sea  hawk  fluttered  wildly  up  and  down  the 
little  railed  platform,  scanning  the  shore  for  signs 
of  the  devastation.  She  was  one  of  the  first  to  get 
into  the  Captain's  boat  after  the  anchor  was 
dropped.  When,  with  flapping  skirts,  she  sprang 
ashore,  she  dashed  straight  to  the  shell-pile,  get- 
ting there  ahead  of  the  men.  She  gave  one  glance 
at  the  empty,  scattered  shells  and  called  back  to 
the  Captain: 

1 '  Lord  a-mercy !  See  what  they  done !  They  Ve 
washed  out  nearly  all  of  'em  and  packed  off  the 
rest  unwashed.  If  that  ain't  what  I  call  the  mean- 
est, lowest-down  kind  of  sneak- thi eving !  Nearly 
all  we  got  out  of  this  cove  is  stole,  robbed,  gone ! 
Sakes  alive!  Wouldn't  I  like  to  been  here  and 
caught  'em  at  it.  They  wouldn't  have  got  a  shell. ' ' 

"It's  too  bad,  Emily,"  sniffed  her  husband. 
"It's  too  tarnation  bad,  but  we've  got  about  fifty 
ton  of  empty  shell  here,  and  at  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  a  ton,  that's  over  six  thousand 
dollars." 

"Six  thousand  dollars!"  snapped  Mrs.  Thrale. 


THE  HATCHETMEN  197 

"Why,  them  pearls  was  worth  five  times  as  much 
as  that,  the  way  they  tested  up.  I  wouldn't  be  so 
easy  satisfied  with  a  crackly  lot  of  old  empty  shell 
that  you'll  have  to  go  clear  down  to  Acupulco  to 
get  rid  of.  Now,  we  '11  have  to  sail  right  after  them 
highbinders  and  get  them  pearls  back. ' ' 

"I  thought  we'd  get  that  shell  aboard  first," 
said  the  Captain, ' '  or  another  gang  will  come  along 
and  we'll  lose  it  all." 

"Captain,"  said  Flamel.  "I've  got  a  scheme. 
It's  for  Tevis  and  me  to  take  the  launch  and  run 
down  the  coast  after  the  Chinks  and  locate  their 
camp.  It's  on  this  island  somewhere.  They  won't 
go  a  mile  from  land  and  we  can  follow  the  coast 
and  pick  'em  up  all  right." 

"Then  what?"  said  the  Captain,  showing  a 
pleased  interest  in  Flamel 's  plan. 

"I  suppose,"  he  said  deferentially,  "that  if  we 
find  'em  you'll  be  wanting  to  steam  down  and  hold 
'em  up  and  get  back  the  boat.  We  can  surprise 
'em  in  camp  to-night." 

"Yes;  I  guess,  we'll  have  to  do  that,"  assented 
the  Captain. 

"Of  course  we  will,"  said  his  helpmeet. 

"And  it  won't  take-  so  very  many  men,"  said 
Flamel.  "I'll  speak  to  Tevis — he'll  want  to  go 
with  me — and  we'll  get  the  launch  ready  right 
away." 

"Heave  ahead!"  said  the  Captain.  "Only  I 
wish  you'd  order  out  all  hands  to  get  this  shell 
aboard  first." 


198  THE     SEA    HAWK 

Flamel  smiled  good-naturedly  and  summoned 
the  crew  to  gather  up  the  shells. 

Sir  Charles  and  Hazel  had  come  ashore  in  one 
of  the  boats.  Hazel  looked  with  interest  upon  the 
shell-gathering  operations.  Tevis  had  just  taken 
Walden  aside  and  pointed  out  the  low  mounds 
amid  the  cactus  scrubs  where  lay  the  bodies  of 
Lars  Larsen  and  Ole  Ek. 

"By  jove!"  ejaculated  the  baronet,  his  monocle 
dropping  the  length  of  its  string.  "This  is  a 
beastly  mess  to  get  into." 

"Hullo!"  said  Tevis,  "Mrs.  Thrale  has  found  a 
little  pile  of  unwashed  shells  that  the  Chinamen 
didn't  get." 

Half-a-dozen  men  had  come  at  the  bidding  of  the 
sea  hawk,  who  set  them  to  work  immediately  to 
wash  out  the  few  bushels  of  shells  that  showed 
streaks  of  putrid  animal  matter  within  their  gap- 
ing mouths.  The  men  had  gone  at  the  washing 
with  a  will,  using  the  coolies'  water-holes  and 
throwing  the  shells,  as  soon  as  washed,  into  sacks 
with  the  others  that  were  being  taken  aboard  the 
yacht. 

"Look-a-here!"  cried  Mrs.  Thrale  to  the  Cap- 
tain. "See  how  them  shell  was  running."  She 
exhibited  her  little  kernels  of  treasure.  ' '  I  tell  you 
them  beach-combers  made  a  big  haul  out  of  us. 
Shouldn't  wonder  if  it  was  twice  thirty  thousand. 
These  few  that's  left  are  coming  out  big.  Donft 
say  anything  about  your  old  shell.  One  pearl  like 
this  is  worth  pretty  near  the  whole  lot  of  it. ' '  She 


THE  HATCHETMEN  199 

held  up  a  beautiful  round  white  jewel  just  handed 
to  her  by  one  of  the  washers. 

At  that  moment  Flamel  came  over  to  Tevis  and 
took  him  aside. 

"  It 's  all  settled, ' '  said  he.  * '  You  are  to  go  with 
me  in  the  launch,  scouting  down  shore  for  the 
Chinks.  When  we  locate  the  camp  we're  to  come 
back  and  report  and  then  we'll  steam  down  in  the 
yacht  and  scoop  'em  in.  The  men  are  crazy  to  get 
after  them.  You  see,  they're  all  out  good  money." 

"I'm  with  you,"  said  Tevis.  "When  do  you 
start?" 

"Soon  as  we  can  get  ready,"  was  the  reply. 
"It's  getting  on  toward  evening,  but  there'll  be  a 
full  moon  to-night  and  that  will  help  us.  It's  just 
to  reconnoitre.  There's  no  use  getting  the  whole 
crew  worked  up  over  our  cruise.  We  can  give  out 
that  we're  going  to  take  a  run  down  to  La  Paz 
for  supplies." 

Tevis  and  Flamel  were  preparing  for  their 
launch  cruise  aboard  the  yacht  a  little  later  when 
Sir  Charles,  sauntering  along  deck,  overhead  them. 
He  waited  while  Flamel  gave  some  orders  in  re- 
gard to  a  supply  of  "chow"  and  an  extra  case  of 
gasoline.  Then  he  approached  Tevis  quietly  and 
said  in  low,  eager  tones. 

"So  you're  going  to  La  Paz  in  the  little  boat? 
That 's  what  I  heard  the  boatswain  say.  Now  I  tell 
you  what  you  do.  Be  a  good  fellow  and  take  Miss 
Braisted  and  me  along.  It's  only  a  beastly  little 
hole,  La  Paz,  according  to  what  I  hear,  but  there 's 


200  THE    SEA    HAWK 

steamers  touching  there  twice  a  month  and  we 
could  get  back  to  Saji  Diego  from  there." 

"But  we  really  don't  know  that  we're  going  as 
far  as  La  Paz,"  replied  Tevis  evasively.  " It's  a 
long  way — more  than  eighty  miles." 

"Well,  I'll  make  it  an  object  for  you  to  go  there, 
then, ' '  said  the  baronet.  ' '  What  do  you  say  to  two 
hundred  pounds?" 

"What  do  I  say?"  returned  Tevis,  smiling.  "I 
don't  say  a  word.  I'm  not  master  of  this  ship, 
and  what's  more,  I  don't  mind  telling  you  in  con- 
fidence that  it's  not  La  Paz  that  we're  after.  We're 
going  to  chase  the  Chinamen  to  their  camp,  wher- 
ever that  is.  You  can  go  along,  Sir  Charles." 

"No,  no;  thanks  awfully!"  said  Walden.  "But 
I  wish  you  luck. ' ' 

"Come  on,  old  chap!"  cried  Flamel  to  Tevis. 
"Everything's  ready." 

"Wait  a  minute !  I've  got  to  see  Jim  Eeynolds 
and  tell  him  what  to  do  about  the  generators." 
Tevis  went  below.  When  he  returned  to  the  deck 
Plamel  was  over  the  side,  sitting  in  the  launch, 
stowing  the  guns  and  the  chow. 

"Mr.  Tevis!" 

He  started  at  the  unexpected  sound  of  Hazel's 
voice.  There  she  stood  in  the  twilight  by  the  gang- 
way looking  at  him  anxiously  out  of  her  dark  eyes. 

"Yes,  Miss  Braisted!" 

"Sir  Charles  says  you're  going  out  with  Mr. 
Flamel  to  hunt  down  the  junk  men  who  stole  the 
pearls. ' ' 


THE  HATCHETMEN  201 

"Well,"  he  said,  "that  isn't  exactly " 

"Please  don't  try  to  make  out  that  it's  some- 
thing else,"  she  said  gravely.  "That's  what  you're 
going  out  for,  isn't  it?  And  it's  an  awfully  dan- 
gerous thing  to  do.  Those  hatchetmen  are  such 
dreadful  creatures.  Now  you  must  promise  me 
something. ' ' 

"What  shall  I  promise?"  he  asked  expectantly. 

"That  you'll  take  good  care  of  yourself — the 
very  best  of  care — and  not  run  any  unnecessary 
risk." 

"Yes,"  he  said  with  a  tremor  of  tenderness  in 
his  tone  and  looking  straight  into  her  serious  eyes, 
"I'll  be  careful  for — for  your  sake." 

"That's  good,"  she  said  flushing  a  little.  "And 
you'll  not  forget,  will  you!" 

"I'll  remember,"  he  said  with  a  gladness  of 
heart  she  could  not  have  failed  to  note.  "Good- 
bye!" 

She  held  out  her  hand  and  he  gave  it  a  gentle, 
lingering  pressure. 

'  '  Good-bye !    Don 't  forget. ' ' 

He  went  down  the  steps  and  aboard  the  launch. 
He  fussed  a  little  with  the  engine,  which  sputtered 
and  whirred,  and  the  boat  started  gently. 

"  Adios!"  he  called  back  to  her  as  he  stood  up 
in  the  stern  and  waved  his  hand. 

"Adios!"  she  replied  with  an  answering  wave. 

Flamel  twisted  the  little  wheel,  the  launch  made 
a  short  turn,  spreading  a  long  ripple  of  water  from 
its  bow,  and  darted  out  into  the  deepening  night. 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE  CAMP  OF  THE  PIRATES 

ALL  the  liquid  glory  of  the  gulf  was  outspread 
for  them  as  they  glided  out  of  the  little  bay  and 
down  the  long,  glittering  moonpath,  steering  due 
south.  From  the  great  arch  above  them  the  pen- 
sile stars  trembled  in  their  southern  largeness  and 
lustre  and  dipped  down  to  the  sea  on  every  side 
save  where  the  sombre  silhouette  of  the  island 
ridges  rose  to  the  east,  while  the  distant  but  per- 
vasive roar  of  the  surf  from  miles  of  reef  and 
beach  crooned  lullabies  to  sleep-fasting  senses  that 
must  still  deny  sleep. 

" Great,  isn't  it?"  said  Flamel  through  the  spell 
that  had  been  cast  over  Tevis. 

"It's  more  than  great,"  he  replied.  "It's 
divine!" 

Never  such  a  night!  Never,  though  so  greatly 
in  need  of  sleep,  was  Tevis  so  much  awake.  For 
the  visible  beauty  of  the  watery  world  and  of  the 
moonlit,  star-strewn  sky,  together  with  the  adven- 
ture afoot,  filled  him  with  an  ardor  of  life,  with  a 
greedy  lust  of  the  senses  for  the  poetry  that  is 
more  to  man  than  his  workaday  nature  ever  ad- 
mits. So  while  the  launch  swung  down  the  long 

202 


THE  CAMP  OF  THE  PIRATES         203 

liquid  swells  and  up  to  the  summits  of  the  gleam- 
ing wave-tips  he  was  full  of  the  glamor  of  the 
Homeric  deep  and  wove  out  a  little  Odyssey  of 
his  own  in  which  he  was  Ulysses  and  Hazel  was 
Penelope,  only  that  his  Penelope  voyaged  with  him 
and  was  not  left  at  home  to  be  harassed  by 
suitors. 

They  rounded  point  after  point,  the  engine 
throbbing  rythmetically,  though  with  an  occa- 
sional irregular  break  that  evidenced  the  nature 
of  her  running  power.  As  each  cove  and  inlet 
opened  to  them  they  made  a  careful  shoreward 
scrutiny,  but  saw  no  signs  of  the  junks. 

"Mighty  glad  we  haven't  got  that  grouchy  'lord' 
of  Mrs.  Thrale  's  along  with  us, ' '  said  Flamel,  tak- 
ing his  cigarette  from  his  mouth.  "Just  for  a 
lark  I  invited  him  to  come,  but  of  course  he 
wouldn't  do  it  when  he  found  out  what  we  were  up 
to.  He  wasn  't  looking  for  a  brush  with  the  Chinks. 
He's  not  like  some  venturesome  Englishmen  I've 
known — they'd  have  been  crazy  to  go  out  on  a  trip 
like  this.  The  girl  seemed  impressed  with  the  idea 
we'd  get  into  a  mix-up,  didn't  she  I  You  needn't 
make  that  mumbling  in  your  throat.  I  caught  what 
she  said — making  you  promise  you'd  keep  out  of 
danger  and  all  that.  Say,  old  man,"  he  added  in 
a  half-bantering  tone,  "do  you  know  I  think  if  she 
had  'the  lord'  off  her  hands,  you  could  run  up 
alongside  all  right." 

' '  Oh,  cut  it  out ! "  growled  Tevis.  ' '  Don 't  make 
sport  of  her." 


204  THE     SEA    HAWK 

"Sport  nothing!"  Flamel  changed  his  tone  to 
one  of  more  seriousness.  "You  must  be  out  in  a 
mighty  thick  fog  if  you  can't  see  what  that  girl 
means  when  she's  so  anxious  to  tell  you  to  take 
good  care  of  yourself.  She  didn't  tell  me  that— 
she  wasn't  worrying  about  me." 

There  was  a  wistful  note  in  his  voice  which  made 
Tevis  feel  that  here,  too,  might  be  a  love  tragedy. 
He  had  often  seen  Flamel  look  very  approvingly 
at  Hazel  when  she  walked  the  deck,  but  it  all, 
seemed  a  part  of  the  general  adoration  of  her  and 
not  of  any  special  significance.  Although  he  made 
a  swift  change  of  the  subject,  harking  back  to  Mrs. 
Thrale  and  the  shell-pile,  the  echo  of  Flamel 's 
heartening*  words  remained.  If  a  man  whom  he 
suspected  to  be  in  love  with  her  himself,  could 
place  such  a  devoted  construction  upon  Hazel's 
parting  admonition,  why  should  he  not  so  construe 
it?  Why  should  he  not 

"Look  there!"  cried  Flamel  suddenly.  "Isn't 
that  a  sail  over  to  starboard?  And  there's  an- 
other." 

They  were  just  rounding  a  long  reef-line  over 
which  the  surf  was  pounding  noisily  and  breaking 
white  in  the  moonlight. 

"Yes,"  declared  Tevis;  "it's  the  junks!" 

"Better  slow  down!"  cautioned  the  first  officer. 
"We  don't  want  to  run  up  too  close  to  them  yet. 
They're  sailing  down  the  island.  Must  have  had 
light  winds  or  they'd  be  farther  along  than  this. 

Tevis  slackened  the  speed  of  the  engine  and 


THE  CAMP  OF  THE  PIRATES         205 

looking-  forward  over  the  long  stretch  of  water, 
saw  that  the  junks  were  moving  slowly  shoreward 
under  the  evening  breeze. 

1 '  Guess  we  'd  better  keep  out  a  little  and  follow 
along  like  a  fly  cop  on  the  other  side  of  the  street, ' ' 
said  Flamel.  ' '  They  smell  better  to  leeward  any- 
way, and  we're  so  low  in  the  water,  I  don't  believe 
they'll  pick  us  up." 

So,  like  the  detective  on  the  other  side  of  the 
street,  they  followed  the  junks,  changing  their 
course  as  they  drew  nearer,  keeping  landward  with 
an  occasional  headland  between  them  and  the 
strange  craft  they  were  spying  upon.  Sometimes 
in  the  shoreward  shadows  they  came  so  near  the 
junks  that  they  could  hear  the  droning  voices 
aboard  them. 

' i  We  could  send  a  shot  aboard  that  fellow,  if  we 
wanted  to,"  said  Flamel,  indicating  the  nearest 
of  the  lug-sails.  ' ' Good  thing  Pederson  isn't  here. 
He'd  raise  a  hullabaloo.  Guess  we'd  better  lay-to 
till  they  make  that  point,  or  they'll  catch  on  to  us. 
Gee,  ain't  that  a  fragrant  perfume!  What  do  you 
call  it — rose  water  or  heliotrope  1 ' ' 

"More  like  Butchertown  at  low  tide,"  replied 
Tevis,  slowing  the  engine. 

"And  get  on  to  the  tin-cantations !  Weird 
enough  for  you,  eh?" 

There  was  a  sound  of  banging  gongs,  a  shrieking 
fiddle  and  a  high-strung  Mongol  voice,  wailing  out 
in  a  distressful  minor,  through  the  still  night : 

"Beats  the  *  Miserere'  by  a  mile,  don't  it!"  re- 


206  THE    SEA    HAWK 

marked  Flamel.  "I'd  like  to  give  that  heathen 
Caruso  something  to  torture  the  air  for.  That's 
right — stop  her.  If  ever  they  hear  our  put-put  it 
will  be  all  off." 

A  little  later  they  were  following  slowly  along 
behind  the  junks,  the  "music"  sounding  more 
faintly  and  the  smells  lost  in  the  night  wind.  Of 
a  sudden  the  lug-sails  disappeared  behind  an  un- 
suspected point  of  land. 

' '  What 's  this  ? ' '  cried  Flamel.  ' '  A  hidden  cove  ? 
I  don't  know  whether  we  ought  to  go  in  or  not. 
They  might  turn  their  guns  loose  from  some  am- 
bush or  other." 

"Then  you  think  there's  more  of  them  ashore !" 
Tevis  peered  forward  as  they  neared  the  obscure 
point  and  the  cove  opened  a  little  to  them. 

"That's  what?  If  it  isn't  their  camp  I'm  no  good 
at  guessing.  I'll  bet  they've  got  a  big  shell  pile 
in  there  somewhere  and  a  lot  of  loot  of  all  kinds. 
See  their  fires?" 

The  launch  had  slowly  poked  her  nose  beyond 
the  abrupt  little  headland.  There  they  could  see 
two  or  three  camp  fire  twinkling  on  the  beach  and 
a  dozen  men  running  down  to  the  water's  edge  to 
meet  the  boats  from  the  incoming  junks.  The 
mouth  of  the  cove  was  narrow,  but  the  inland  wa- 
ter broadened  into  a  quarter-mile  stretch,  which 
lay  darkly  before  the  launch  in  the  shadow  of  high 
cliffs  that  ran  out  from  the  east. 

"Pretty  snug,  isn't  it?"  said  Flamel.  "They've 
found  here  a  tight  little  lagoon,  well  guarded  by 


THE  CAMP  OF  THE  PIRATES         207 

that  outside  reef  and  those  cliffs  you  see  over 
there,  and  no  doubt  so  shallow  that  nothing  but 
their  horse-troughs  can  sail  into  it.  The  only  way 
we  could  get  in  to  hold  'em  up  and  get  back  our 
pearls  would  be  in  small  boats,  and  it  would  be 
pretty  risky.  It's  a  mighty  safe  little  camp,  don't 
you  think?" 

"Well,"  replied  Tevis,  "it  may  be  safe  from 
On  Yick  and  it  may  be  safe  from  Mexican  gun- 
boats, but  it  isn't  safe  from  Mrs.  Thrale." 

Flamel  laughed.  ' 1 1  know  what  you  mean.  She  '11 
have  that  loot  back  from  those  highbinders  if  she 
has  to  clean  out  the  whole  camp  herself.  Wonder 
if  we  can't  get  a  closer  view  of  'em.  Let's  see.  If 
we  went  right  in,  they'd  hear  the  engine  and  catch 
on  to  us.  Let's  run  her  back  to  that  first  little 
cove  above  the  reef,  go  ashore  and  sneak  along 
the  beach  under  the  cliff — it's  pretty  well  in  the 
shadow  there — and  take  a  squint  at  the  pagans." 

He  turned  the  launch  about  and  they  made  for 
the  small  cove.  Anchoring  and  going  ashore  in 
the  gig  they  stole  quietly  along  the  beach  at  the 
foot  of  the  cliff  until  they  reached  a  tangle  of  mes  • 
quits  and  chaparral.  Through  the  tall,  veiling- 
brush  they  worked  their  way  around  to  the  north 
side  of  the  camp  of  the  poachers  and  to  a  point 
not  far  from  them. 

Nearly  all  the  men  of  the  junks  had  come  ashore, 
and  they  were  now  squatting  about  the  fires,  gab- 
bling like  geese  and  eating  food  from  bowls  with 
chop-sticks.  A  stout  man,  in  a  large  blouse  and 


208  THE     SEA    HAWK 

with  a  round  cap  on  his  head,  was  giving  orders 
as  to  the  bestowal  of  some  luggage  in  sacks  that 
had  just  been  brought  ashore.  A  little  way  back 
from  the  beach  amid  the  scattered  mesquits  were 
two  or  three  small  bowers  and  a  long  white  reach 
of  piled-up"  shell. " 

Flamel  and  Tevis  sat  in  the  brush,  their  rifles  in 
their-hands,  noting  all  the  movements  of  the  poach- 
ers. Once  when  the  stout  man  took  a  few  steps 
toward  them  and  paused  as  if  listening,  Flamel 
raised  his  rifle,  but  the  man,  all  unconscious  of 
their  presence,  went  back  to  the  nearest  fire. 

"That's  the  boss — that  fat  chap  in  the  round 
cap,"  whispered  Flamel;  "bet  a  dollar  he's  a  red- 
button  man  and  rules  this  gang  like  a  king.  We 
could  give  him  a  surprise,  couldn't  we?  He  hardly 
expected  us  in  to  rice  this  way.  No  doubt  but  what 
he's  got  the  stolen  pearls  on  him  somewhere  or 
close  by.  If  we  could  only  separate  him  from  the 
gang  we  could  get  the  goods  back  to  the  yacht 
without  any  help.  But  he  sticks  close  to  camp.  See 
that  boatload  just  come  ashore!  They've  nearly 
all  got  hatchets  and  there's  three  rifles." 

Tevis  looked  to  where  the  moonlight  gleamed 
upon  the  rifle-barrels. 

"How  many  are  there  in  the  gang,"  he  asked: 
"I've  been  counting,  and  I  make  it  about  forty." 

Flamel  made  a  hasty  count. 

"That's  about  right.  Of  course  they're  pretty 
good  fighters,  but  if  we  could  run  in  here  before 
morning  with  Pederspn  and  a  dozen  other  husky 


THE  CAMP  OF  THE  PIRATES         209 

Swedes  and  catch  these  gents  asleep  we  could  rout 
'em  out,  hold  'em  up  and  get  the  pearls  back  all 
right." 

"That's  a  good  plan,"  said  Tevis.  " Let's  be 
at  it." 

They  turned  and  crawled  through  the  brush 
back  to  the  beach  and  were  soon  aboard  the  launch 
again,  speeding  for  the  yacht.  During  the  two- 
hour  run  they  took  turns  at  sleeping  and  when  the 
yacht  hove  in  sight  each  felt  somewhat  refreshed, 
though  "a  little  fuzzy,"  as  Flamel  expressed  it. 


CHAPTER  XVI       , 

A  CLASH  AT  AKMS 

"WHAT  luck?"  demanded  the  sea  hawk  the  mo- 
ment the  launch  ran  alongside  with  one  of 
FlamePs  neat  stopping  turns. 

"We  located  'em  all  right.  We  found  their 
camp.  It's  about  twenty  miles  below  here,  not  far 
from  the  end  of  the  island." 

"Did  you  see  anything  of "  began  the 

Captain. 

"How  many  of  'em  are  there?"  came  the  eager 
demand  from  Mrs.  Thrale,  by  which  her  husband's 
query  was  overborne. 

"They're  in  a  tight  little  cove,  Captain,"  re- 
plied Flamel,  stepping  upon  the  deck.  "There's 
not  more  than  forty  of  'em,  and  I  think " 

"Forty!"  cried  the  Captain  in  dismay.  "As 
many  as  that  1 ' ' 

"Only  forty!"  Mrs.  Thrale 's  high-pitched  voice 
more  than  made  up  in  confidence  for  her  husband's 
lack'  of  it.  "Why,  we  could  run  right  down  there 
and  clean  'em  out  and  get  them  pearls  back  in  no 
time." 

"Oh,    but    forty    hatchetmen,"    objected    the 

Captain. 

210 


A  CLASH  AT  ARMS  211 

" Forty's  nothing, "  sniffed  the  sea  hawk  con- 
temptuously. "Why,  we  could  beat  'em  out  and 
get  the  stuff  back  if  it  was  a  hundred.  They  have 
only  a  few  rifles  and  we  have  plenty." 

"If  you'll  permit  me,  Captain,"  said  Tevis  to 
the  cowed  and  hawk-clawed  Thrale,  "Mr.  Flamel 
and  I  have  thought  of  a  plan.  It  is  to  take  down 
enough  men  in  the  launch  to  give  the  Chinamen  a 
first-class  surprise,  hold  them  up  and  make  them 
hand  over  the  pearls." 

"That's  it,"  said  Mrs.  Thrale.  "Surprise  'em- 
Make  'em  yield  up.  But  why  not  go  down  in  the 
yacht?" 

"Because,"  explained  Tevis,  "we  couldn't  run 
in  to  the  lagoon  with  her — there's  reefs  and  rocks 
and  shoals — and  we  might  as  well  start  from  here 
in  the  launch  as  anywhere. ' ' 

"Our  idea,"  said  Flamel,  "was  not  to  lose  any 
time,  but  to  run  right  back  to  the  camp  with,  say, 
a  dozen  men.  We  could  get  there  before  three 
o'clock  with  this  tide." 

Mrs.  Thrale  rubbed  her  bony  hands  together 
and  looked  expectantly  at  Flamel  and  Tevis. 

"That'll  be  all  right,"  said  the  Captain,  with  a 
show  of  authority.  "Rouse  up  Pederson,  Sven- 
son,  and  a  lot  of  the  others — how  many  do  you 
want — twelve? — and  get  'em  started  right  away. 
It's  almost  two  bells.  You  ought  to  get  back  by 
sun-up,  hadn't  you?" 

"Yes,  easily,"  said  the  first  officer. 

6 '  But  twelve  men  against  that  whole  gang ! ' '  said 


212  THE    SEA    HAWK 

the  Captain.  "Do  you  think  that  will  be  enough, 
Mr.  Flamel?  The  Chinamen  probably  haven't 
many  rifles,  but  they're  mighty  handy  with  their 
hatchets,  you  know." 

"I  don't  intend  to  let  them  get  a  hack  at  us  with 
their  hatchets,"  said  Flamel.  "We  can  stand 
them  off  with  the  rifles  at  a  hundred  feet  or  so  and 
make  them  yield  up." 

Flamel  was  ordered  to  call  up  the  men  and 
Tevis  to  take  the  rifles  from  the  rack  and  distrib- 
ute them.  The  two  men  started  hastily  in  different 
directions. 

"Mr.  Tevis!"  came  the  voice  of  Hazel  Braisted 
from  where  she  was  sitting  on  a  deck- stool  beside 
the  afterhouse. 

His  heart  leaped  gladly  at  the  sound.  She  ha9 
been  up  and  waiting  his  return  after  all!  He 
stepped  over  to  her  in  the  half -darkness.  She 
wore  a  long  coat  and  had  a  soft,  dark  something 
over  her  head.  She  rose  quickly  when  he  came 
toward  her. 

'  '  So  you  found  them  and  are  going  out  on  a  night 
attack?" 

"Why,"  he  said,  looking  at  her  fondly,  where 
she  stood  in  the  shadow  of  the  house,  "I  believe 
something  of  the  sort  is  planned. 

"But  is  it  necessary  that  you  should  go?  There 
was  an  appealing  touch  in  the  tone.  l '  Those  awful 
hatchetmen ! ' '  Captain  Thrale  has  been  telling  me 
more  about  them.  You  won 't  go,  will  you  ? ' ' 

"Yes,"  he  replied  conclusively,  "I  must  go. 


A  CLASH  AT  ABMS  213 

And  I'm  in  a  dreadful  hurry  to  prepare  for  the 
trip.  It's  late  and  you  must  go  right  down  to 
your  room  and  to  bed,  and  let  me  carry  out  my 
orders. " 

6 ' Well,  I'll  go,"  she  consented  unwillingly. 
"Only  remember,  you're  to  take  good  care  of  your- 
self— the  very  best  care.  Good-bye ! ' ' 

She  put  forth  her  hand  and  his  own  closed  upon 
it  and  held  it  in  a  lingering  pressure. 

"Good-bye!"  he  said.  "It's  worth  a  lot  to  me 
to  know  that  you  care  a  little — as  much  as  this." 
His  voice  trembled,  for  the  warm  contact  of  her 
hand  made  his  pulses  leap.  "Here  comes  Flamel. 
Good-bye!" 

Flamel  did  not  see  her  as  she  hurried  around  the 
corner  of  the  house. 

"Do  you  know,"  said  the  first  officer  when  he 
came  up,  "I'd  go  into  this  hold-up  game  with  a 
good  deal  more  ginger  if  the  old  man  would  show 
a  little  nerve." 

"Oh,  well,"  said  Tevis,  "Mrs.  Thrale  ought  to 
be  inspiration  enough  for  you." 

"That's  just  it — the  way  she  lays  it  over  the 
Captain  makes  me  tired.  Put  in  plenty  of  extra 
cartridges,  Tevis,  and  a  six-shooter  for  each  man 
beside  the  rifles.  We'll  have  the  pick  of  our  men 
and  I  guess  the  Chinks  won't  make  much  of  a 
stand." 

But  after  the  men  and  their  arms  were  all 
aboard  the  launch  and  they  were  flying  down  along 
the  island  coast,  Tevis  heard  Flamel  and  a  young 


214  THE    SEA    HAWK 

quartermaster  named  Perkins,  who  had  been  taken 
along  because  of  his  known  bravery,  quietly  dis- 
cussing the  prospects  of  the  adventure,  and  the 
first  officer  now  struck  a  different  key. 

"I  hope  the  hold-up  scheme  will  work  all  right," 
Flamel  was  saying.  "Neither  the  old  man  nor 
Mrs.  Thrale  has  any  idea  what  it  means  to  sneak 
into  the  camp  of  a  lot  of  beastly  hatchetmen  and 
rout  'em  out  this  way.  Pleasant  morning*  pas- 
time, eh?" 

"What  the  hell  do  we  care?"  was  the  quarter- 
master 's  reply.  ' i  Gimme  a  cigareet. ' ' 

As  Tevis  manipulated  the  engine,  seeing  to  it 
that  the  oil  cups  were  full  and  the  batteries  work- 
ing properly,  his  thoughts  ran  upon  Hazel.  It  was 
a  comfort  to  think  of  her  sleeping  peacefully  in 
her  cabin  while  he  was  out  on  this  dubious  excur- 
sion. The  last  sweet  words  she  had  spoken  when 
she  had  said  "Good-bye"  still  retfiained  with  him 
and  the  soft  warm  feel  of  her  little  hand. 

Other  parting  words  remained  with  him,  too — 
those  of  Mrs.  Thrale.  He  could  see  the  b$ak  and 
the  eyes  of  the  sea  hawk,  thrust  eagerly  over  the 
rail  as  the  launch  chugged  away,  with  its  full  load 
of  armed  men,  and  towing  two  small  boats. 

"Bring  'em  all  back,"  she  had  admonished 
them.  "Don't  leave  a  single  pinhead  to  those 
heathens.  They  can't  do  much  with  their  old 
hatchets  against  your  guns.  You  can  scare  'em  to 
pieces." 

About  scaring  them  to  pieces,  Tevis,  who  knew 


A  CLASH  AT  ARMS  215 

how  desperately  the  tongs  fought  in  California, 
was  not  so  sure ;  but  he  liked  the  look  of  the  launch- 
load  of  determined  men,  sitting  in  a  double  line 
with  their  knees  almost  touching  each  other  and 
with  their  bristling  rifles  glinting  in  the  moonlight. 
Particularly  heartening  to  the  whole  crew  was  the 
voice  of  the  ready-battling  Pederson: 

"Ve  get  a  few  Cheenamans  dissen  time,  eh 
boys?"  he  was  saying.  "Ay  dank  ve  yoost  mate 
oop  for  dot  Half-Moon  Bay  bizness,  eh,  Svenson? 
Ve  pay  oop  for  Ole  Ek  und  Lars  Larsen  all  right. 
Dey  don  'd  bin  kill  en  Svenskmen  for  noddings,  Ay 
dank." 

"No,  not  for  noddings,"  grimly  responded 
Svenson.  "Ay  make  two  Cheenamans  go  dead 
sure  dis  time  all  right." 

1  i Now  Pederson, ' '  cautioned  Flamel,  ' l don't  you 
go  off  half-cocked.  WeVe  got  to  surprise  'em — 
remember  that.  And  if  there's  any  shooting  done 
it's  only  because  it's  got  to  be  done.  Keep  that  in 
mind,  all  of  you.  We  must  catch  'em  napping  if 
we  can. ' ' 

When  at  last  they  rounded  the  high  cape  which 
hid  the  hatchetmen's  cove  from  the  seaward  side, 
Flamel  said : 

"Now  if  you'll  shut  off  the  engine,  Tevis,  we'll 
bring  the  boats  alongside  and  one  of  them  can  tow 
us  up  into  the  lagoon,  in  the  shadow  of  the  cliff 
there." 

The  throb  of  the  engine,  which  would  have  be- 
trayed them  to  an  alert  guard  on  the  beach,  ceased 


216  THE     SEA    HAWK, 

suddenly.  One  of  the  boats  was  pulled  alongside 
and  Pederson  and  Svenson  got  into  it.  They 
made  fast  to  the  bow  of  the  launch,  leaving  the 
other  boat  astern,  and,  slowly  and  silently,  the 
little  flotilla  moved  over  the  quiet  waters  of  the 
cove  and  past  a  gateway  of  rocks  into  the  lagoon, 
towed  by  the  small  boat.  There  they  saw  the  low- 
burning  campfires  on  the  beach. 

When  they  were  well  in  the  middle  of  the  lagoon 
they  passed  one  of  the  junks,  which  lay  motion- 
less under  the  stars,  with  no  sign  of  life  aboard. 
The  embers  of  the  campfires  ashore  glowed  a  little 
plainer,  and  about  them  lay  silent,  bunchy  shapes 
— the  bundled-up  hatchet-men,  all  soundly  asleep. 
Not  a  sentry  was  in  sight. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

THE  PURPLE1  BLOUSE 

QUIETLY  the  anchor  was  let  down  in  two  fathoms 
and  into  the  boat  crawled  the  alert  and  expectant 
men,  their  rifles  in  hand  and  their  Colts  in  their 
holsters.  The  three-o  'clock-in-the-morning  sum- 
mons of  drowsy  nature  had  subdued  the  spirit  of 
watchfulness  in  the  camp — there  was  no  one  mov- 
ing there. 

As  soon  as  the  keels  grated  upon  the  beach  the 
men  stepped  ashore,  subtly  alert  for  any  movement 
in  the  camp  of  the  hatchetmen.  Leaving  Jim 
Reynolds  in  charge  of  the  boats,  the  other  men, 
led  by  Flamel  and  Tevis,  walked  up  the  soft  shin- 
gle as  with  padded  feet,  past  the  Chinamen's  boats. 

The  human  bundles  beside  the  low-burning  fires, 
were  in  little  groups,  as  still  as  the  rocks  among 
which  they  lay.  The  bunched-up  shapes  looked 
darkly  mysterious  in  the  moonlight,  and  Tevis  held 
his  breath  as  he  stared  at  them.  How  suddenly, 
at  the  sound  of  alarm,  would  these  quiet  bundles 
be  quickened  into  active,  threatening  life ! 

It  was  a  rare  and  unreal  moment  for  him,  for 
never  before  had  he  engaged  in  any  sort  of  armed 

217 


218  THE     SEA    HAWK 

warfare.  The  Swedes  took  it  all  as  a  matter  of 
course,  but  to  him  the  whole  affair  seemed 
phantasmal. 

"Now,  boys,"  said  Flamel,  in  a  commanding 
whisper  when  the  invaders  stopped  for  a  moment 
at  a  sign  from  their  chief,  "when  I  give  the  word 
each  of  you  fire  one. shot  over  their  heads  and  yell 
as  loud  as  you  can." 

The  men,  all  eager  to  regain  their  treasure, 
looked  vindictively  at  the  robbers.  To  Tevis  the 
Viking  Swedes  were  living  over  again  the  histories 
of  their  predatory  and  vengeful  forbears.  As  he 
looked  into  their  tensely  strained  faces,  showing 
ruggedly  fierce  in  the  moonlight,  he  saw  that  but 
one  thought  dominated  them — the  eager  desire  to 
regain  their  own  and  to  punish  the  plundering 
Mongols.  Moreover  it  occurred  to  him  at  that  mo- 
ment that  the  poachers  must  have  other  loot  not 
stolen  from  the  Searcher's  crew,  and  that  these 
reckless  sons  of  the  piratical  Norsemen  would  not 
be  too  scrupulous  about  gathering  in  all  the  hoard. 

As  he  saw  the  white-haired  Swedes  grasp  their 
weapons  he  noted  that  among  them  were  long- 
bladed,  keen-pointed  knives,  showing  that  they 
were  prepared  for  close  fighting. 

"Ready!"  cried  Flamel  at  the  top  of  his  voice. 
"Bang  away!"  He  fired  as  he  spoke  and  a  dozen 
shots  ripped  forth,  and  while  a  fugue  of  echoes 
resounded  from  the  cliffs,  trebling  the  effect,  the 
men  yelled  madly  again  and  again.  All  had  aimed 
high  save  Pederson  and  Svenson  who,  despite 


THE  PURPLE  BLOUSE  219 

FlamePs  orders,  had  fired  in  among  the  dark 
forms  about  the  campfires. 

There  was  a  wild  uprush  of  the  bundled  coolies 
as  though  a  cyclone  had  swept  in  among  them,  a 
screeching  gabble  of  voices,  high,  frenzied  and 
quickly  changing  from  alarm  to  defiance.  Hatch- 
ets and  knives  gleamed  and  clashed  and  a  clamor 
of  strange  calls  rent  the  early  morning  air  and 
went  echoing  up  the  gulch.  But  there  were  two 
bundles  that  did  not  rise — those  into  which  Peder- 
son  and  Swenson  had  sent  their  whistling  bullets. 

Some  of  the  frenzied  Mongols  sprang  toward 
the  white  men,  their  madly  waved  hatchets  cleav- 
ing the  air,  and  two  or  three  wild  shots  rang  out 
from  among  them ;  but  when  in  the  moonlight  they 
saw  the  rigidly  raised  rifles  threatening  them,  they 
fell  back  in  confusion,  huddling  together  and  glar- 
ing defiantly  across  the  open  space  to  the  quiet,  re- 
lentless handful  of  determined  men  who  confront- 
ed them. 

"Steady,  boys!"  was  the  command.  "Stand 
your  ground  and  keep  'em  covered!  Don't  shoot 
till  I  do!" 

Standing  beside  the  panting  Pederson  and  in 
line  with  the  other  Swedes,  Tevis  felt  the  strange 
tenseness  of  the  situation  to  its  utmost. 

"Hi-lo!  hi-lo!"  called  Flamel  to  the  Mongol 
band,  waving  his  hand  commandingly,  but  with  his 
rifle  still  up-raised.  "We  come  for  pearl!  We 
catchee  pearl  you  stealee!  You  givem  up  now — 
savvy !  Must  havem  pearl ! ' ' 


220  THE     SEA    HAWK 

"No  sobee!  Hip  no  sobee!"  was  the  cackling, 
indeterminate  reply. 

"Yes,  you  do,  damn  you!"  roared  Flamel  in  a 
great  bull  voice,  with  a  sharp  upthrust  of  his  rifle 
barrel.  "And  you've  got  to  give  'em  up!  Close 
in  on  'em  a  little  boys!" 

The  men  pressed  forward  about  ten  paces,  their 
weapons  still  raised. 

1 '  We  wantee  boss ! ' '  called  Flamel.  ' '  We  talkee 
boss!  Where  is  he?  Come  out,  boss — we  talkee 
you!" 

"Hip  no  sobee!"  yelled  a  high  Mongol  voice 
from  the  central  group  of  the  besieged.  The  voice 
continued  in  tones  which  Tevis  took  for  those  of 
the  man  in  command.  ' '  We  catchee  fish,  abalonee, 
shark,  tuttle — no  sobee  pearl ! ' ' 

"Oh,  no!  You  don't  savvy  pearl,"  bellowed 
Flamel.  "Well,  I'll  give  you  just  two  minutes, 
boss,  to  come  out  and  deliver  up  the  goods.  You 
hear  ?  Two  minutes ! ' ' 

"No,  no!"  grunted  the  stout  Mongol,  who  was 
evidently  the  chief  for  whom  they  were  looking. 
You  go  'way  one  minute ! ' ' 

There  was  a  flashing  of  hatchets  as  the  bloused 
figures  gathered  about  the  spokesman  and  the 
gabble  arose  again,  with  wild  accompanying  ges- 
ticulations. 

To  this  unexpected  threat,  Pederson  who  had 
been  perking  up  in  a  bristling  obsession,  yelled 
savagely : 


THE  PURPLE  BLOUSE  221 

"Ve  no  savvy  yo  one  minuten.  Ve  gif  a  tarn  for 
yo  one  minuten.  Bah!" 

' '  Shut  up,  Pederson !  ' '  called  Flamel.  '  '  Hi-lp ! 
You  boss!  We  come  from  steamboat  to  catchee 
our  pearl.  You  got — we  must  have ! ' ' 

" No  hob  pearl!  No  hob!  Hip  no  sobee  pearl!" 
insisted  the  boss,  though  in  a  more  subdued  tone. 
'  *  Me  talkee  you  now  all-right !  Hip  sobee  Melican 
talkee." 

"All  right,  come  out,  boss,  and  let's  see  you!" 
Flamel  lowered  his  rifle  and  the  boss  stepped  for- 
ward, accompanied  by  a  half  dozen  of  his  men. ' ' 

' '  No — only  the  boss !  We  talkee  him.  You  other 
fellows  stay  back.  Savvy ! ' ' 

The  stout,  moon-faced  man,  in  the  big  blouse, 
waddled  slowly  toward  the  white  men.  He  began 
a  long,  high-pitched  goose-gabble  of  talk,  in  which 
he  was  from  time  to  time  supported  by  assenting 
nods  and  grunts  from  his  men,  who  had  calmed 
down  to  the  aspect  of  quiet,  everyday  Chinamen 
and  no  longer  showed  anything  suggestive  of  a 
hostile  front,  their  weapons  having  disappeared 
from  view.  A  few  of  them  straggled  over  to  tho 
boss '  side  and  while  he  blandly  and  unctuously  ex- 
plained the  entirely  peaceful  and  legitimate  nature 
of  their  business  on  the  island,  assuring  Flamel 
he  was  mistaken  in  confounding  them  with  the 
wicked  shell-pile  robbers,  others  of  the  camp  slow- 
ly sauntered  up  to  the  white  men. 

"Guess  we  don't  make  much  out  o'  this  crowd," 
observed  Perkins  to  Tevis,    "See  the  scar  on  that 


222  THE    SEA    HAWK 

chap's  face?"  He  pointed  to  a  nearby  Celestial 
from  whose  yellow  cheek  there  showed  an  old  dirty 
white  hatchet  gash. 

The  man  with  the  scar  was  talking  in  low  tones 
to  a  member  of  his  tong.  While  speaking  he  made 
a  quick  gesture  and  in  the  dark  hollow  of  the  loose 
sleeve  of  his  blouse,  Tevis  caught  the  gleam  of 
steel. 

"Mr.  Flamel!"  he  called  instantly.  "These 
men  are  getting  too  close. ' ' 

"Stand  back  there,  you  fellows!"  shouted 
Flamel.  "Now,  boss,  we  must  have  those  pearls 
— savvy — or ' ' 

His  voice  was  drowned  in  a  series  of  sudden 
yells  from  the  boss,  commanding  calls,  ringing 
high  and  wild,  and  swiftly  answered  by  weird, 
cackling  cries  from  the  highbinders,  while  from 
the  sleeves  of  a  score  of  blouses  flashed  glittering 
hatchets. 

"Stand  back,  there!"  yelled  Flamel.  "Stand 
back!" 

But  the  onrush  of  the  highbinders  was  not  to  be 
stayed  by  a  word.  They  sprang  upon  the  surprised 
white  men  like  wolves,  yelling  madly,  their  hatch- 
ets clashing  upon  the  upraised  rifles,  now  useless 
save  as  fending  tools  against  the  hacks  of  the 
short,  swiftly  wielded  weapons  of  the  unfair  foe- 
men  who  had  quickly  planned  this  cunning  method 
of  attack  that  they  might  fight  in  their  own  favor- 
ite fashion. 

Tevis  felt  a  sudden  coolness  about  the  roots  of 


THE  PURPLE  BLOUSE  223 

his  hair  as  he  faced  the  waving,  slashing  hatchets, 
but  he  sprang  resolutely  past  the  close-fighting 
mass  of  white-haired  Vikings,  who  were  throwing 
down  their  useless  rifles  and  were  making  their 
six-shooters  speak  sharply  and  to  good  purpose, 
and  on  to  FlamePs  side.  What,  on  the  first,  sud- 
den uprush  of  the  highbinders,  had  seemed  the 
cobwebby  unreality  of  the  whole  affair  was  riven 
and  swept  aside,  and  he  saw  the  battle  as  a  quick, 
sharp,  vital  clash  at  arms.  There  was  a  tumult  in 
his  blood.  He  himself  became  a  Viking,  full  of 
the  spirit  of  primal  man.  He  raised  his  heavy 
Colt  and  sprang  to  the  front  with  Flamel,  while 
the  boss  of  the  highbinders  fell  back  to  the  rear  of 
his  wildly  fighting  men. 

There  was  a  rattle  and  whirl  of  shots  from  the 
Swedes,  and  Tevis  found  himself  firing  madly  with 
the  rest,  and  with  as  little  heed  to  consequences. 
As  the  valiant  Swedes  closed  in  upon  the  Mongols 
with  their  revolvers  and  knives,  Tevis  suddenly 
discovered  himself  in  a  pistol-and-hatchet  argu- 
ment with  two  pig-tailed  men.  One  of  these  fell 
suddenly  before  him,  whether  from  one  of  his  own 
shots  or  that  of  the  other  whites  he  did  not  know. 
As  the  other  Mongol  lunged  forward,  he  fired  at 
him  blankly,  but  miraculously  missed,  and  the  fel- 
low bore  down  upon  him  with  swinging  hatchet. 
Tevis  seized  his  loose-hanging  pigtail,  yanked  him 
quickly  to  one  side,  dodged  the  hatchet-blow,  and 
bore  his  man  softly  to  the  ground.  A  pair  of 
bony  knees  dug  him  in  the  stomach  and  a  pair  of 


224  THE     SEA    HAWK 

sharp-nailed  hands  clutched  wildly  at  his  throat. 
There  was  a  surge  and  heave  of  bodies  all  about 
him,  harsh  breaths,  grunts,  groans  and  alien,  un- 
couth smells. 

But  the  shock  of  battle  had  been  wonderfully 
stimulating  to  his  blood.  He  seemed  possessed  of 
a  force  that  had  been  outside  and  beyond  him  and 
he  wrestled  vigorously  with  his  madly  writhing 
foe,  grappling  the  wildly  swinging  hatchet-arm  at 
the  wrist,  and  trying  to  strike  the  man  on  the  head 
with  the  heavy  butt  of  his  revolver,  while  all  the 
time  he  felt  the  breathing,  straining  body  under 
him.  He  thrust  aside  the  claw-like,  pricking  fin- 
gers, grasped  the  shoulders  of  his  man  and  held 
him  to  the  earth,  coming  down  hard  and  close  upon 
him  and  dropping  his  revolver  as  he  did  so.  There 
was  a  swish  of  air  above  his  head,  and,  turning,  he 
saw  that  his  quick  descent  had  saved  him  a  blow 
from  a  hatchet  wielded  by  a  fierce  highbinder  who 
stood  over  him  with  upraised  weapon,  ready  to 
strike  again.  Tevis  coolly  grasped  his  new  antag- 
onist by  his  loose-clothed  legs  and  he  came  down 
like  a  tree  beside  the  other  man.  Then  he  had  the 
two  of  them  to  struggle  with  and  the  unequal  com- 
bat must  have  resulted  badly  for  him,  but  that  a 
big  Swede  took  his  new  assailant  off  his  hands  with 
a  quick  knife-thrust.  At  the  same  time  some  one 
in  the  struggling  mass  kicked  Tevis  inconsiderate- 
ly in  the  face.  It  may  have  been  the  Swede,  for 
some  outside  force  had  brought  him  down  upon 
him.  He  groped  about  in  the  sand  for  his  revolver, 


THE  PUEPLE  BLOUSE  225 

but  could  not  find  it.  The  hatchet  man  beside  him 
was  lying  quietly,  and  so  was  the  Swede,  but  his 
first  f  oeman  was  now  wriggling  out  of  his  grasp. 

All  about  him  he  heard  shots,  hatchet-strokes, 
the  piercing  gabble  of  the  Mongols,  the  shouts  of 
the  Swedes  and  the  scurry  of  flying  feet.  With 
his  eyes  searching  the  ground  for  the  lost  revol- 
ver, he  saw  two  black,  snake-like  objects  lying 
there — the  long  queues  of  the  dead  man  and  the 
living — and,  reaching  down,  he  kinked  the  braids 
in  a  hard  knot  that  brought  the  two  heads  together, 
while  his  assailant  squealed  and  piped  like  a  dying 
pig  and  tried  to  free  himself  from  the  loathsome 
toils.  But  he  rove  the  two  queues  together  loop  by 
loop,  and  drew  them  so  tightly,  that  the  two  heads 
lay  close  up,  and  his  man  was  securely  anchored 
for  the  time.  Then  he  sprang  to  his  feet,  and 
searched  about  in  the  sand  for  his  revolver,  finding 
it  at  last,  and  grasping  its  handle  with  a  fierce 
joy.  But  there  were  now  no  combatants  near  at 
hand. 

Looking  about,  he  saw  in  the  gray  light  of  the 
quickly  approaching  dawn  the  figures  of  the 
Swedes  running  toward  the  cove  in  full  cry  after 
a  band  of  Chinamen,  while  others  of  the  pursued 
were  getting  into  their  boats  and  pushing  off  for 
the  junks.  As  he  ran  down  the  beach  he  caught 
sight  of  Flamel  and  Pederson,  the  Swede  well  in 
the  lead  of  the  pursuing  white  men. 

What  seemed  strange  about  the  flight  of  the 
main  body  of  hatchetmen  was  the  fact  that  they 


226  THE    SEA    HAWK 

ran  all  bunched  up,  like  football  players  in  a  flying 
wedge,  protecting  the  man  with  the  ball.  Soon 
Tevis  saw  who  the  man  with  the  ball  was.  He  was 
the  stout  boss  in  the  big  blouse.  His  men  were 
covering  his  waddling  flight  to  his  boat.  It  was  for 
the  reason  that  he  was  fat  and  slow-footed  that  he 
must  needs  fall  toward  the  rear  of  the  wedge  in  its 
retreat,  and  as  the  whites  pressed  down  upon  them, 
Tevis  saw  him  flagging  behind,  as  the  others  lost 
loyalty  and  compactness  in  their  frantic  efforts  to 
escape  their  pursuers.  While  Tevis  overtook  and 
ran  with  the  rest  of  the  men,  the  fleet  Pederson 
sprang  in  among  the  thinning  rear  guard,  and 
seized  the  "boss"  by  the  collar.  The  loose-'blouse 
came  off  in  Pederson 's  hand  and  fell  to  the  ground, 
while  the  man,  freed  from  the  clutch  of  the  Swede, 
rushed  ahead  after  the  rest.  But,  strangely 
enough,  he  did  not  go  ten  steps,  before  he  turned,  a 
revolver  in  his  hand,  his  round,  oily  face  a  picture 
of  defiance.  He  made  a  desperate  plunge  back 
to  the  fallen  jacket,  and,  planting  his  feet  firmly 
upon  it,  swung  his  glittering  weapon  to  right  and 
left  in  the  frenzy  of  an  animal  at  bay.  Pederson 
paused,  for  the  pistol  popped  viciously  and  two 
bullets  whizzed  past  his  head. 

"Bun  around  behind  him,  Pederson,  Johnson!" 
yelled  Flamel.  "Don't  shoot  him.  He's  the  boss 
and  he  knows  where  the  pearls  are.  The  rest  of 
you  get  after  those  chaps  that  are  making  for  their 
boats.  Keep  'em  on  the  move." 

The  two  Swedes  rushed  to  the  rear  of  the  frantic 


THE  PURPLE  BLOUSE  227 

Chinaman,  but  he  faced  about  suddenly  and  sent 
a  bullet  in  between  them. 

1  '  Better  give  up,  old  son, ' '  shouted  Flamel, ' '  and 
throw  down  that  gun!" 

"No  sobee!"  was  the  wheezy  return  of  the  boss. 

"You  know,  I  like  that,"  said  Flamel  to  Tevis. 
"He's  the  right  kind — a  man  who  doesn't  savvy 
when  he's  beat" 

To  this  compliment  the  defiant  Oriental  replied 
with  a  bullet  that  grazed  Flamel 's  cheek. 

< '  Oh,  cut  it  out ! ' '  The  first  officer  put  his  hand 
to  his  face.  "I  don't  shave  with  that  kind  of  a 
razor.  Get  in  there,  you  fellows !  Close  in  on  his 
rear!" 

But  the  infuriated  man  swiveled  about  on  his 
jacket,  like  a  whirlwind,  his  white  shirt  fluttering 
in  the  breeze  and  his  gleaming  pistol  everywhere. 

"Ay  dank  he  no  bin  gotten  any  rear,"  said  Ped- 
erson,  quietly.  1 1  But  Ay  get  him  alledy  same. ' ' 

He  rushed  in  upon  the  mad  fighter  and  grasped 
at  his  pistol  hand. 

Bang!  Zipt!  A  bullet  whisked  through  the  sand. 

"There  goes  his  last  shot,"  said  Flamel,  while 
the  pistol  clicked'  on  empty  shells  and  the  boss 
yelled  to  his  men,  who  by  this  time  were  off  in  the 
boatslamid  a  bustle  of  rifle  shots  from  the  pursuing 
whites. 

Pederson  seized  thelman  around  his  stout  waist, 
and  bore- him  to  the  ground,  where  he  clawed  like  a 
cougar,  and  would  have  fought  off  the'burly  Swede, 
but  that  two  other  men  laid  harsh  hands  upon  him. 


228  THE    SEA    HAWK 

Even  then,  with  three  men  holding  him  down,  he 
squirmed,  and  heaved  and  the  veins  stood  out  on 
his  fat  forehead  from  which  the  sweat  rolled  in 
streams.  Defiance  still  glittered  from  his  eyes, 
while  his  hands  clutched  at  the  jacket.  t 

"Now,  boss,"  said  Flamel.  "You  got  heap 
big  lot  of  pearl — all  belong  to  us.  Where  you  keep 
'em?" 

"No  sobee!"  persisted  the  man,  with  a  grunt  as 
Pederson 's  knee  pressed  suddenly  upon  his  chest. 

1 1  Oh,  you  heap  savvy !    Where 's  the  pearls  ? ' ' 

With  one  hand  the  prostrate  man  had  been  work- 
ing at  the  blouse  until  it  was  now  stuffed  into  the 
sand  at  his  side.  Flamel  noted  the  action  just  as 
Pederson  brought  his  knife  within  an  inch  of  the 
fallen  man's  throat,  with  the  grim  words : 

"Ay  dank  I  maken  him  tell  all  right." 

"No,  Pederson,"  cried  Flamel,  "don't  do  that. 
Let's  have  a  look  at  that  jacket.  He  risked  his 
life  for  it,  and  it  may  be  what  we're  looking  for." 

He  seized  the  blouse  and  was  pulling  it  out  from 
under  the  boss'  body,  when  it  was  clutched  tightly 
by  the  long-nailed  fingers. 

"You  no  takee  coat!"  gasped  the  boss.  "Him 
my  velly  good  coat.  You  letta  me  go  now,  you 
ca tehee  hip  money — gol'  money — tlee,  fo'  t'ousand 
dolla.  I  catchee  coat,  go  junk — f o '  t  'ousand  dolla. 
You  sobee?" 

"Aha!"  cried  Flamel.  "They're  in  the  jacket 
all  right.  Tlee,  fo'  t'ousand  dolla?  Not  on  your 
blooming  pig-tail !  Let  go ! "  He  pulled  at  the  coat, 


THE  PUKPLE  BLOUSE  229 

the  Chinaman  still  retaining' his  clutch  upon  it.  A 
violent  yell  and  it  was  free  from  his  grasp.  The 
garment  was  of  purple  silk  and  well  made,  but  the 
inside  cloth  had  been  torn  in  the  struggle. 

"Hold  on!"  cried  Tevis.  "Don't  lose  'em!" 
For  out  of  the  rent  lining  poured  a  half-dozen  big 
white  pearls.  They  fell  in  the  sand  and  he  picked 
them  up,  while  Flamel  gathered  the  garment  to- 
gether and  rolled  it  up  tightly. 

"Come  down  this  way  where  the  sand's  harder, 
Tevis,"  said  the  first  officer,  "and  we'll  look  into 
this  thing  on  safe  ground,  where  we  won't  lose 
anything.  Tlee— fo'  t'ousand  dolla!  I'll  bet 
there 's  over  fifty  thousand  in  this  thing. ' ' 

He  took  the  blouse  down  to  the  wet  beach,  but 
when  he  unfolded  it  no  more  pearls  fell  out.  He 
and  Tevis  looked  closely  at  the  garment,  which  was 
of  good  strong  silk  and  heavily  padded.  It  was 
rather  old,  and  it  was  greasy  down  the  back  from 
much  contact  with  an  oily  pigtail.  Turning  it  over 
they  saw  that  it  was  lined  with  a  satin-like  cloth, 
stitched  on  in  curious  ribs  or  strips.  They  fingered 
the  lining  closely,  even  into  the  loose  sleeves,  but 
could  feel  nothing  that  seemed  like  pearls;  but 
pearls  had  rattled  out  of  that  lining,  and  there 
must  be  more  in  it  somewhere.  They  laid  the  coat 
down  on  the  sand  inside  out  and  pressed  firmly 
down  upon  it  with  their  finger-tips  and  palms,  but 
through  the  cloth  they  could  feel  none  of  the  hard 
little  objects  for  which  they  were  in  search. 

"This  is  a  trick  coat,"  said  Flamel  mystified. 


230  THE     SEA    HAWK 

"He  must  have  borrowed  it  from  Herrmann,  the 
Great.  Let's  cut  out  a  little  more  lining  and  see 
what's  inside." 

Tevis  took  his  knife  and  ripped  up  the  lining 
from  the  bottom  rent  made  by  the  boss 's  claws  on 
the  left  side  of  the  blouse. 

1 1  Ah, ' '  he  exclaimed,  '  <  leather !  The  thing 's  go't 
an  inside  lining,  and  these  strips  are  put  on  to 
keep  it  in  place."  He  made  a  lateral  incision  across 
several  of  the  strips  and  through  the  leather. 
"Here  you  are,"  he  said — "long  inside  pockets, 
not  much  bigger  than  pencils. ' '  He  squeezed  along 
one  of  the  pockets  and  out  of  the  cut  he  had  made 
rolled  three  or  four  good-sized  pearls,  white  and 
scintillant  in  the  morning  light. 

"Yes,"  cried  Flamel,  "that's  where  they  are. 
It's  our  lucky  day.  The  thing's  chuck  full  of 
pearls.  That's  what  it  was  made  for.  I  can  feel 
'em  now.  Just  run  your  finger -along  that  pocket. 
It's  like  a  snake  that's  swallowed  a  string  of 
beads.  Let's  try  the  other  side. 

Tevis  cut  through  the  double  lining  in  the  right 
side  of  the  blouse,  and  squeezed  out  a  half  dozen 
black  pearls. 

"White  on  the  left  side,  black  on  the  right," 
cried  Flamel,  in  high  excitement.  "The  thing's 
as  good  as  a  gold  mine.  They've  no  doubt  been 
robbing  shell  piles  all  up  and  down  the  Gulf."  He 
rolled  up  the  coat  and  tied  it  together  by  the 
sleeves.  "We  needn't  look  any  further  until  we 
get  aboard,"  said  he.  "Now  what '11  we  do  with 


THE  PUEPLE  BLOUSE  231 

the  boss?  Guess  we'd  just  better  tie  him  up  and 
leave  him  on  the  beach  for  his  folks  to  look  after 
him  when  they  come  back.  Then  we'll  take  care 
of  those  poor  chaps  of  ours  who  went  down  in  the 
fight." 

"How  many  men  have  we  lost?"  asked  Tevis. 

"Three,  I  think — pretty  well  chopped  up  by  the 
hatchetmen.  They're  lying  back  there  by  the  camp. 
We've  got  to  give  'em  a  decent  burial,  and  there's 
two  others  that  have  got  bullets  in  'em.  We've 
got  to  take  care  of  them.  Guess  we'd  better  hurry 
and  get  'em  aboard  as  soon  as  we  can.  If  you'll 
stand  guard  over  the  boss,  Pederson  and  the  rest 
can  tend  to  the  wounded  and  throw  our  dead  into 
the  lagoon.  The  pagans  can  look  after  their  own. ' ' 

"There's  one  live  Chinaman  back  there  queued 
up  to  a  dead  one,"  said  Tevis,  remembering  his 
strange  exploit.  "What  are  you  going  to  do  with 
him?" 

' '  Let  him  stay  where  he  is. ' ' 

He  went  back  to  the  scene  of  the  battle  and 
while  Tevis  guarded  the  now  quiet  and  subdued 
boss,  Pederson  brought  some  tag-ends  of  rope 
from  the  boats  and  secured  him  with  a  vindictive 
pulling  of  knots. 

When  Tevis  saw  the  Swedes  bearing  the  bodies 
of  their  comrades  down  to  the  water 's  edge  he  had 
to  look  the  other  way,  for  in  their  sorrow  some  of 
them  were  weeping  and  lamenting  unto  heaven. 
He  heard  the  bodies  splash  into  the  lagoon,  and 
turned  aside  with  a  sigh.  He  had  known  the  dead 


232  THE     SEA    HAWK 

Swedes.  They  were  worthy  men  and  he  would 
miss  their  faces  from  the  crew. 

The  two  wounded  men  had  already  been  placed 
in  the  boats.  There  was  now  nothing  to  do  but 
to  get  aboard  the  launch  and  speed  away  from  the 
place  which,  as  Tevis  reflected,  had  been  the  scene 
of  great  fortune  and  of  greater  disaster.  Taking 
the  two  rowboats  in  tow  and  giving  the  junks  a 
wide  berth,  they  glided  down  the  lagoon  towards 
its  mouth,  the  curses  of  the  coolies  coming  to  their 
ears  over  the  low  waves  and  a  half  dozen  rifle- 
shots making  the  water  spout  about  them. 

Just  as  they  neared  the  mouth  of  the  lagoon, 
they  heard  the  yacht's  whistle,  long-drawn  and 
distressful.  . 

6 '  Speed  her  up,  Tevis ! ' '  cried  Flamel  from  the 
bow  where  he  was  steering.  "Something's  the 
matter  aboard  the  yacht.  Wonder  what  he  ran 
down  here  for  anyway. ' ' 

" Guess  the  old  lady  got  anxious  about  us,"  said 
Tevis  advancing  the  spark  a  little. 

"But  what's  he  whistling  for?  Must  be  some- 
thing up. ' ' 

"Dar's  der  yacht  now!"  exclaimed  Pederson, 
as  the  Searcher's  familiar  lines  loomed  up 'beyond 
the  reef. 

They  rounded  the  rocky  cape  steadily,  though 
the  boats  dragged  a  little,  and  they  could  not  run 
very  fast.  Flamel  stood  up  in  the  bow  as  they 
passed  the  last  point. 


THE  PURPLE  BLOUSE  233 

" Speed  her  up — throw  her  wide  open!"  he 
yelled, ' l  or  we  '11  never  get  there. ' ' 

"What's  the  matter!"  asked  Tevis  anxiously. 

' l  Matter  ?  Nothingrnuch,  only  there 's  a  damned 
gunboat  after  the  yacht  and  it's  just  like  Thrale 
to  lose  his  head  and  run  away  and  leave  us  to  take 
care  of  ourselves ! ' ' 

Tevis  stood  up  in  the  boat.  His  eyes  swept  the 
great  level  of  liquid  light,  the  morning  sea,  across 
which  the  sun  had  begun  to  spread  its  rays  of 
rose.  To  the  west  and  near  at  hand  was  the  yacht, 
standing  off  the  mouth  of  the  cove  awaiting  them. 
To  the  southward  there  was  a  curl  of  black  smoke 
and  the  bristling  masts  of  a  steamer  coming  on 
rapidly,  her  hull  showing  plainly  in  the  slanting 
sunlight. 

"Do  you  think  it's  really  a  gunboat?"  asked 
Tevis  anxiously,  advancing  the  spark  to  the  last 
notch. 

"Yes,"  replied  Flamel,  "no  doubt  about  it.  Must 
be  the  General  Torres.  She's  the  only  cruiser 
they've  got  on  the  Gulf  now.  Yes,  that's  what  it 
is.  It's  the  General  all  right;  and  we've  got  to 
make  a  hot  run  for  it  or  we'll  see  the  inside  of 
the  calaboose  at  La  Paz  before  night." 

"Why,  I  thought  you  said  we  were  prepared 
for  such  an  emergency — the  specimen-collecting 
dodge — how  about  that?" 

"Can't  be  worked  now — too  much  shell  aboard, 
we'd  be  caught  with  all  this  loot.    Our  only 


234  THE    SEA    HAWK 

chance  is  to  run  for  it.  Great  Scott!  What's  the 
matter  now?" 

For  the  engine  missed  stroke  after  stroke,  and 
wheezed,  gurgled  and  did  everything  that  it  should 
not  have  done  in  such  an  emergency,  finally 
slackening  to  half-speed. 

"Better  get  out  your  oars,"  said  Tevis  quietly, 
turning  the  feed-cock  and  shutting  off  the  gaso- 
line. "We're  hung  up  all  right!  Damn  those 
batteries!" 


CHAPTEE  XVIII 

THE  SPIEIT  OF  THE  CHASE 

TEVIS  opened  the  battery  box  and  fussed  and 
fumbled  about  in  it  to  ascertain  the  cause  of  the 
trouble,  while  the  oars  flashed  in  the  sun  and  the 
men  in  the  boats  pulled  like  mad  and  towed  the 
launch  slowly  along  toward  the  yacht.  It  took 
him  at  least  five  minutes  to  find  the  loose  binding- 
post  which  was  the  particularly  thing  gone  wrong, 
but  to  tighten  it  was  the  work  of  a  moment.  He 
cranked  the  engine,  which  quickly  took  up  its 
steady  pulse  and  they  dashed  ahead  again,  towing 
the  boats,  with  the  men  in  them. 

"Good  boy!"  shouted  Flamel.  "I  thought  we 
were  done  for  that  time. ' ' 

"Looked  like  it,"  said  Tevis,  smiling  in  his  vic- 
tory over  the  obstinate  engine.  "Guess  she's  all 
right  now  though." 

But  the  gunboat  was  showing  bulky  and  threat- 
ening, and,  coming  on  as  she  did,  it  was  evident 
that  she  was  trying  to  cut  them  off  from  the  yacht. 
For  a  time  it  looked  as  though  she  would  accom- 
plish this  object,  but  the  launch  was  fleet,  and  she 
had  not  come  up  quite  soon  enough  to  effect  this 
plain  purpose ;  still,  as  the  boats  were  delaying  the 

235 


236  THE     SEA    HAWK 

yacht,  which  could  hardly  sail  away  without  them, 
as  Flamel  had  feared,  the  position  was  very 
critical. 

Now  they  could  hear  the  blaring  megaphone  call 
from  the  yacht,  Captain  Thrale  bawling  from  the 
bridge  and  ordering  them  to  make  more  haste. 

Mrs.  Thrale  stood  beside  her  husband,  beckoning 
madly  and  her  voice  ringing  out  above  the  bull 
bass  of  the  megaphone : 

"Come  on!  Come  on!  You're  making  no  time 
at  all!  For  mercy  sakes,  why  don't  you  speed  up 
a  little?" 

Hazel's  white  face  over  the  rail  came  into  view, 
and  presently  her  voice  mingled  with  the  others. 

"Oh,  hurry,  hurry,  hurry!"  she  cried,  beseech- 
ingly, across  the  narrowing  strip  of  water  that 
divided  them  from  the  yacht.  "Can't  you  come  a 
little  faster?" 

The  launch  darted  ahead,  as  Tevis  risked  the 
crowding  of  her  engine  a  bit  harder  in  answer  to 
Hazel's  call.  He  rejoiced  to  think  that  she  was  with 
them,  heart  and  soul,  in  their  wild  dash  for  liberty. 
It  nerved  him  to  his  work  and  he  did  not  make  a 
single  false  move,  though  he  risked  running  along- 
side without  shutting  off  the  engine  until  the  last 
moment,  so  that  they  might  lose  no  time  in  board- 
ing. 

Pederson  and  the  other  Swedes  were  as  skillful 
in  the  handling  of  the  small  boats.  In  an  incredi- 
bly short  time  they  all  hastened  up  to  the  side,  and 
piled  aboard  the  yacht,  carrying  the  wounded  men. 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  CHASE         237 

By  the  time  the  boats  were  fast  to  the  davits  the 
vessel  was  under  way.  But  even  before  that  the 
voice  of  the  sea  hawk  demanded  raucously: 

"Did  you  get  the  pearls?    Did  you  get  'em?" 

"Yes,"  said  Flamel  shortly. 

"Did  you  get  'email!" 

"I  think  so." 

* '  Good !  good !    Good  for  you ! ' ' 

There  was  a  flashing  gleam  of  triumph  in  the 
woman's  hard,  greedy  eyes. 

"Where  are  they?  Let  me  see  'em!"  she 
demanded. 

"They're  in  this  bundle,"  said  Flamel,  hand- 
ing the  sleeve-tied  blouse  over  to  her  with  an  im- 
patient sigh.  This  having  to  answer  to  a  woman 
captain,  and  particularly  under  stress  of  a  men- 
acing gunboat,  was  not  to  his  taste.  ' '  Excuse  me ! 
The  Captain's  calling."  He  strode  away,  and 
Mrs.  Thrale,  clasping  the  precious  bundle  to  her 
breast,  scurried  to  the  Captain's  cabin  with  flut- 
tering skirts.  To  her  the  threatened  attack  of  the 
cruiser  was  but  the  buzzing  of  a  fly  in  this  glorious 
moment  of  the  recovery  of  the  treasure. 

Those  of  the  crew  who  had  quickly  learned  the 
good  news  gazed  after  her  with  satisfied  smiles  as 
she  hurried  below.  Their  shares  were  safe. 

"But  it  didden  bin  yoost  leekady  picken  it  oop 
off  en  der  beach,"  explained  Pederson.  "Not  yoost 
like  dot.  Veil,"  he  said,  glancing  toward  the  on- 
coming gunboat,  "mebbe  ve  don'd  keep  'em  long 


238  THE     SEA    HAWK 

anyvay.    Ay  dank  dees  Mexicans  ynmp  onto  us 


soon  as  ever  vas." 


When  Tevis  had  helped  to  secure  the  launch, 
which  hung  heavy  in  the  davits  and  required  care- 
ful maneuvering  in  swinging  aboard,  he  leaned 
against  a  stanchion,  just  a  bit  fagged  after  all  his 
strained  efforts,  and  stared  toward  the  General 
Torres  which  for  the  time  seemed  to  be  gaining 
upon  the  yacht. 

*  '  Oh,  Edwin  Tevis ! "  It  was  Hazel 's  voice  in  hi  s 
ear,  full  of  sympathetic  agitation.  "I'm  so  glad 
you  weren't  hurt,  and  I'm  so  glad  you  got  away 
from  those  terrible  Mexicans!"  She  caught  at 
his  hand  and  gave  it  a  convulsive  little  squeeze, 
while  he  thrilled  to  the  warmth  of  it  and  of  her 
precious  words.  He  minded  not  the  commotion 
among  the  crew,  the  wild  hum  of  the  propeller,  the 
cry  of  the  Captain  for ' '  Full  speed  ahead, ' '  nor  the 
nearing  menace  of  the  gunboat. 

" We've  been  standing  outside  over  an  hour," 
she  said  to  him,  "but  it  seems  an  age.  I  heard  the 
shots.  Oh,  there  were  so  many  of  them !  And  then 
the  awful  silences,  and  more  shots.  And  after  it 
was  all  over,  I  waited  and  waited  for  the  boats  to 
come  back.  Then  there  was  the  gunboat,  and  I 
prayed  you  might  escape  her.  Did  you  see  I  They 
tried  to  cut  you  off  from  the  yacht." 

"Yes.  I  hope  we'll  show  them  a  clean  pair  of 
heels!" 

1 1  Oh,  we  shall  get  away, ' '  she  said  proudly.  l '  No 
boat  ever  raced  with  us  that  wasn't  beaten.  But 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  CHASE         239 

she's  dreadfully  close,  isn't  she?  Did  you  see  that 
puff  of  white  smoke  from  her  deck  just  then?  It 

was  like "  The  boom  of  a  gun  finished  he* 

sentence  for  her.  "  Are  they  shooting  at  us?  Dear 
me!  Isn't  it  terrible  1" 

"No,"  said  he,  "they're  not  really  aiming  at 
us.  It's  just  a  warning.  A  shot  across  our  bow. 
We're  supposed  to  stop  now." 

"But  we  won't,"  she  cried  resolutely.  "We'll 
run  away  from  them.  We'll  show  them  we're  not 
going  to  surrender  to  any  old  tub  like  that." 

"But  you  must  go  below." 

"Oh,  no;  not  yet.    Let  me  stay  a  little  longer." 

Full  of  the  speed  and  spirit  of  the  chase,  the 
brave  girl  watched  the  bull-dog  pursuer  astern, 
while  shot  after  shot  splashed  in  the  sea  about  the 
racing,  throbbing  yacht,  or  skipped  along  the 
wave-tips,  sending  up  sparkling  aigrettes  of  spray. 

Tevis  wondered  where  Walden  was,  and  judged 
that  he  was  somewhere  below. 

When  the  Searcher  settled  down  to  the  business 
of  making  speed  she  skimmed  over  the  sea  like  a 
gull,  and  the  Mexican,  though  straining  hard  to 
overtake  her,  soon  fell  behind.  A  shot  came  tear- 
ing through  the  yacht's  rigging  and  brought  a 
brace  rattling  and  thudding  down  from  the  fore- 
mast. The  men,  under  Thrale  's  nervously  shouted 
orders,  ran  to  clear  the  deck. 

"You  really  must  go  below  now,  Hazel,"  urged 
Tevis;  "for  the  General  Torres  is  getting  mad 
and  he's  begun  to  do  damage." 


240  THE    SEA    HAWK 

"I'd  rather  stay  on  deck  and  watch  the  General 
fall  behind. "  She  smiled  bravely.  "He's  losing 
rapidly  now.  And  then  I  want  to  talk  with  you. 
I  want  to  know  all  about  the  fight  with  the  high- 
binders and  about  the  poor  men  who  were  wound- 
ed. There  was  none  killed,  was  there?" 

i l Oh,  but  you  must  go  below, ' '  he  insisted.  " I'll 
tell  you  all  about  it  down  in  the  saloon.  Come 
on!  Come!" 

She  obeyed  at  last  and  went  below  with  him, 
and  they  sat  and  talked  while  the  roar  of  the  Gen- 
eral Torres'  guns  grew  fainter  and  fainter. 

"You  don't  like  compliments,"  he  said,  "bui 
did  no  one  ever  call  you  a  brave  girl  ? ' '  He  looked 
at  her  admiringly.  "Most  girls  would  have 
shrieked  when  that  firing  began  and  they  would 
have  fainted  when  the  shot  tore  away  the  brace." 

"I  don't  believe  I'm  so  very  brave,"  she  said, 
smiling,  "but  perhaps  I've  taken  a  leaf  out  of 
Mrs.  Thrale's  book.  She's  the  only  other  woman 
aboard,  and  she's  so  warlike.  One  easily  gets  to 
imitating,  you  know.  I  believe  I  should  become  a 
sort  of  pirate  if  I  kept  on.  These  things  get  into 
one's  blood.  Much  as  I  have  wanted  to  rejoin  my 
father,  it  has  been  quite  an  enjoyable  voyage  after 
all,  and  this  is  the  most  stirring  chapter  of  it." 

She  glowed  rosily  as  she  spoke  and  was  so  com- 
panionably  confidential  that  he  felt  a  budding  faith 
in  her  interest  in  him.  It  certainly  had  been  charm- 
ingly expressed  when  she  saw  him  safe  aboard 
after  the  fight  and  the  chase.  * 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  CHASE         241 

"Yes,"  he  breathed  earnestly,  "I'm  glad  you 
have  been  along,  for  if  you  hadn  't  been,  the  cruise 
would  have  been  nothing  to  me. ' ' 

"Oh,  you  would  have  been  so  interested  in  these 
adventures  that  you  would  have  forgotten  all 
about  me, ' '  she  said  naively,  getting  up  and  going 
over  to  a  port.  "Look  there!  See  how  the  gun- 
boat has  fallen  behind ! ' ' 

He  stepped  to  her  side  while  she  held  back  the 
little  curtain. 

"Yes;  and  she's  stopped  firing.  Well,  I  sup- 
pose she'll  give  us  up  as  a  bad  job  now." 

"I  told  you  she  couldn't  get  near  us,"  said 
Hazel.  "This  is  a  fast  boat.  But  how  did  you 
get  the  pearls  back  from  the  Chinamen?  I  want 
to  know  all  about  it." 

He  began  the  story  simply,  and,  as  he  went  on, 
her  color  heightened.  When  he  came  to  the  purple 
blouse  she  laughed  gayly.  They  were  both  so  in- 
terested in  the  narrative  at  this  point  that  they  did 
not  observe  the  entry  of  another  person  into  the 
saloon,  but  now  a  burry  voice  broke  in : 

"Ah,  it  was  funny,  indeed,  wasn't  it? — upon  my 
word — fighting  with  a  lot  of  scurvy  coolies  over  a 
few  pebbles!"  Sir  Charles'  face  was  dark  and 
heavy,  and  he  spoke  with  the  abandon  begotten  of 
wine.  "Flamel  has  told  me  all  about  the  fight," 
he  went  on,  "how  you  roused  up  the  poor  China- 
men and  stole  that  fellow's  jacket.  But  of  course," 
he  added  jealously,  "you  and  he  are  heroes  now — 
to  the  ladies.  Mrs.  Thrale  is  probably  waiting  for 


242  THE    SEA    HAWK 

a  chance  to  fall  upon  your  neck,  just  as  another 
woman  I  could  name.  You " 

What  stopped  the  taunting  stream  was  the  sud- 
den stiffening  of  Tevis'  athletic  frame  and  a  look 
that  blazed  from  his  glinting  blue  eyes— a  cold, 
hard,  compelling  look  that  bespoke  a  scorn  as  fine 
and  as  liberal  as  an  Olympian  god's.  As  he  stood 
staring  steadily  and  icily  at  the  man,  there  was 
that  in  the  iron  compulsion  of  his  gaze  which  so- 
bered, awed  and  dominated  him.  Those  menacing 
orbs  looked  him  through  with  an  implacable  gleam, 
the  face  was  white  and  full  of  a  relentless  rigor, 
while  the  lips  curled  in  a  contemptuous  smile  that 
conveyed  almost  as  much  of  warning  and  of  threat 
as  did  the  eyes. 

Terrified  by  the  look  and  fearing  violence,  which 
she  might  have  known  would  not  have  been  dis- 
played in  her  presence,  Hazel  stepped  a  little  near- 
er to  Tevis  and  said  imploringly : 

" Don't  mind  him — please  don't!  He'll  think 
better  of  his  words  later,  I  know  he  will.  Did  you 
see  how  quickly  we  ran  away  from  the  Mexicans, 
Sir  Charles?"  she  asked  in  assuaging  tones. 
"They're  away  behind  now." 

Walden  moved  his  lips  to  speak,  but  his  mouth 
was  dry  and  his  tongue  failed  him.  She  could  see 
how  completely  that  steely  stare,  that  inexorable 
menace,  had  overawed  and  affrighted  him. 

Eelaxing  his  rigor,  Tevis  turned  a  mild  gaze 
upon  her,  lifted  his  cap  with  formal  politeness  and 
strode  out  of  the  saloon. 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  CHASE         243 

"Oh!"  cried  Hazel  in  a  low  tone,  turning  her 
accusing  eyes  upon  Sir  Charles,  "how  you  de- 
served that — how  you  deserved  being  cowed  and 
beaten  by  that  man's  contempt." 

"Cowed— beaten?  I  like  that!"  He  tried  to 
carry  off  the  incident  with  a  light  air,  though  there 
was  a  tremor  in  his  voice. 

"You  wouldn't  have  liked  what  he  would  have 
done  but  for  my  being  here.  He  looked  capable  of 
stamping  upon  you  and  throwing  you  overboard. ' ' 

"Oh,  he  had  a  nasty,  insolent  air,"  admitted 
Sir  Charles;  "but  I  should  like  to  see  him  try  to 
stamp  upon  me." 

"You — you're  brave,  aren't  you?  I  don't  see 
how  one  of  your  nature  could  brook  his  resentment 
that  way.  It  must  have  been  unwittingly.  But 
there's  one  thing  you  must  do  and  at  once,  too." 

"What's  that?" 

"Go  to  him  and  apologize." 

"Apologize  to  that  electrician?"  grumbled  Sir 
Charles. 

"To  that  gentleman." 

"Oh,  but  I  can't  do  it,  I  really  can't.    He's  such 

o » 

n 

"You  shall  apologize  to  him  immediately,  or  I'll 
never  speak  to  you  again." 

"Oh,  I  say,  you  don't  mean  that!" 

"Go  to  him  and  say  that  you're  sorry  or  I'll  do 
precisely  what  I  have  said,"  she  insisted  coldly. 

Sir  Charles '  eyes  studied  the  carpet. 

"Well,"  he  muttered,  "I  didn't  intend  to  make 


244  THE     SEA    HAWK 

any  row.  I — I — of  course  I  was  wrong;  and  I'll 
apologize.  It  won't  occur  again." 

"No,"  said  Hazel,  sweeping  past  him  out  of  the 
saloon,  her  voice  breaking  into  a  sob  as  she  uttered 
the  words,  "it  can't  occur  again.  If  father  only 
knew!  Wait  until  I  see  him!" 

Sir  Charles  found  Tevis  in  the  smoking-room, 
moodily  biting  at  an  unlit  cigar.  The  angry  man 
stared  at  him  with  a  challenging  look  which 
changed  suddenly  as  the  baronet  said  abruptly 
and  as  if  forcing  out  the  words : 

"I'm  sorry  I  spoke  as  I  did  just  now.  But  you 
must  have  known  it  was  just  my  way." 

Tevis  looked  at  him  uncertainly. 

"Did  Miss  Braisted  ask  you  to  do  this?" 

"Yes,"  admitted  the  humbled  man  in  a  low  tone. 

"Very  well  then,"  said  Tevis  with  a  sudden 
lightness  of  heart, ' '  although  I  must  confess  I  was 
waiting  for  you — to  see  you  alone  and — well,  we'll 
say  no  more  about  it. ' ' 

He  took  the  flabby  hand  extended  to  him  and 
gave  it  a  slight  pressure.  Sir  Charles  turned  ab- 
ruptly and  went  into  his  room,  muttering  as  he 
closed  the  door  behind  him : 

"What  rot !  The  idea  of  my  apologizing  to  that 
electrician!  I  wouldn't  have  done  it  but  for  her. 
Why  did  she  insist  upon  it  ? "  There  was  jealousy, 
shame  and  rage  in  his  tone.  "Why!  Unless,  in- 
deed, she  loves  him  as  I  feared.  But  an  elec- 
trician !  It 's  impossible ! ' ' 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  CHASE         245 

In  her  room  Hazel  threw  herself  down  upon  her 
bed  and  buried  her  face  in  the  white  coverlet.  She 
was  very  angry.  She  had  found  much  to  disap- 
prove in  Sir  Charles  before,  but  this  was  the  first 
time  he  had  openly  insulted  her.  In  her  wrought- 
up,  resentful  state  she  found  herself  hotly  framing 
a  note  that  she  would  send  to  him,  forthwith  re- 
leasing her  from  what  she  had  many  times  con- 
sidered her  odious  betrothal  to  the  man  whom  her 
father  had  chosen  as  her  husband.  Her  father! 
But  he  must  have  seen,  he  must  have  known,  and, 
knowing,  approved.  He  would  not  have  approved 
of  Edwin  Tevis.  It  was  inevitable  that  the  two 
men  who  had  just  stood  in  such  sharp  contrast  he- 
fore  her — the  one  noble,  valiant,  fine,  the  other 
cold,  insolent,  selfish — should  still  remain,  a  pic- 
ture of  opposites.  Tevis  was  so  manly,  so  self-re- 
liant ;  and  the  other  so  full  of  coarse  hauteur  and 
as  readily  condescending. 

But  the  words  of  the  letter  framed  themselves 
feebly  when  the  thought  of  her  father  recurred  to 
her.  Now  that  his  fate  was  uncertain  and  occupied 
so  much  of  her  daily  and  nightly  meditation,  her 
consent  to  the  loveless  marital  arrangement 
seemed  hopelessly  fettering. 

Yet  there  had  arisen  a  mightier  reason  than  her 
heart  had  ever  known  before  for  breaking  the 
chains  that  held  her,  and  that  reason  was  Edwin 
Tevis.  He  loved  her  and — yes,  she  would  own  it 
to  her  heart — she  loved  him.  She  knew  how  her 
father,  anxious  for  her  to  wed  title*  would  scorn 


246  THE    SEA    HAWK 

the  idea  of  her  looking  upon  such  a  man  in  the 
light  of  a  lover.  She  could  see  his  hard  face,  his 
thin  money  lips,  coldly  laughing  her  down;  she 
could  see  him  dominating  her  in  his  iron  way  as  he 
had  dominated  her  dead  mother.  For  one  who  was 
of  the  house  of  Braisted  could  know  no  will  but 
that  of  its  master. 

Yet,  despite  it  all,  she  would  be  thinking  of  Ed- 
win Tevis.  She  could  remember  so  many  things 
he  had  said  to  her,  and,  more  than  all,  she  could 
remember  the  light  of  love  in  his  clear,  frank  eyes, 

It  was  he  who  had  made  this  enforced  voyage 
supportable  and,  in  some  passages,  even  delightful 
to  her.  But  it  could  not  last  long.  She  would  be 
going  away  and  leaving  him  on  the  far  rim  of  the 
continent — he  who  was  to  her  the  whole  horizon. 
It  was  hard  to  think  of  this. 

"Oh,  father,  father!"  she  moaned  tremulously, 
her  face  half-smothered  in  the  coverlet.  Oh,  if  I 
could  but  speak  to  you !  If  I  could  tell  you ! ' ' 

Again  the  cold,  commercial  face  of  her  father 
rose  before  her  forbiddingly,  and  she  knew  that 
had  he  been  there  she  would  hardly  have  dared  to 
open  her  heart  to  him,  and  if  she  had  dared,  it 
would  have  been  a  vain  appeal. 

Tevis  went  on  deck,  not  much  mollified  by  the 
forced  apology.  The  terms  of  it  were  not  to  his 
liking.  For  now  she  would  speak  to  Walden  again 
— she  would  forgive  him —  and  as  for  himself,  he 
was  still  an  outsider.  But  it  might  be  that  Sir 
Charles  had  cause  for  his  jealousy.  His  heart 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  CHASE         247 

leaped  at  the  thought.  She  had  shown  so  much 
interest — such  concern  for  him  in  danger — a  con- 
cern almost  tender  in  its  expression.  What  was 
the  logic  of  that  concern  if  it  were  not  love  ? 

He  went  to  the  rail,  and  stood  just  opposite  the 
belching  stack.  The  engines  were  pulsing  madly 
and  the  hot  fumes  from  the  fire-room  came  up,  oily 
and  sickening,  through  the  deck  grating.  Over  the 
side  the  sea  was  scurrying  past  and  away  astern 
the  smoke  of  the  pursuer  lay  low  upon  the  water. 

Captain  Thrale  came  along,  looking  like  a  man 
just  off  the  rack.  His  smile  as  he  stopped  near 
Tevis  and  looked  astern  was  thin  as  winter  sun- 
shine. 

"Well,  we've  shown  her  a  pretty  neat  pair  of 
heels,"  observed  Tevis. 

"Yes;  she's  hull  down  and  out  of  it,"  he  said, 
with  a  twitching  face,  "but  still  you  never  can  tell. 
She  may  have  a  few  knots  up  her  sleeve  yet.  I've 
seen  things  happen  in  ocean  races  you  know." 
They  walked  along  the  deck  and  up  to  the  bridge 
together.  Mrs.  Thrale  stood  abaft  the  wheelhouse, 
gazing  steadily  through  her  glass.  She  had  been 
keeping  watch  there  almost  since  the  beginning  of 
the  chase.  Her  cheeks  seemed  more  tightly  drawn 
and  the  corners  of  her  mouth  more  sunken,  but  her 
hard  black  eyes  blazed  with  victory. 

"Didn't  we  scoot  away  from  'em,  though?"  she 
said,  triumphantly.  "Didn't  we  show  'em  white 
water?  I'm  glad  it's  all  over.  I've  just  been  ach- 
ing to  go  down  and  see  what's  in  that  Chinaman's 


248  THE    SEA    HAWK 

jacket.  It's  stowed  away  in  the  Captain's  safe. 
Mr.  Flamel  says  it's  padded  with  pearls.  I  hope 
so,  but  men  folks  are  so  easily  fooled."  She 
started  below.  "Want  to  come  along,  Mr.  Tevis? 
Come,  Captain!" 

They  went  to  the  Captain's  office,  where  Mrs. 
Thrale  opened  the  little  safe  and  took  out  the 
greasy  purple  garment  and  laying  it  upon  the 
table,  unfolded  it  carefully. 

"Smells  like  opium  or  something,"  she  said, 
sniffing  like  a  cat.  "Now,  I  don't  see,"  she  went 
on,  feeling  along  the  strips  sewn  to  the  lining, 
"how  there  can  be  as  much  in  this  thing  as  Flamel 
thinks,  though  he  did  give  me  a  few  he'd  taken  out 
of  it." 

She  pressed  her  finger  tightly  along  one  of  the 
strips  toward  the  cut  Tevis  had  made  through  the 
lining  and  the  leather,  but  her  careful  working 
down  the  seam  was  unrewarded. 

"Merciful  me !  I'm  awfully  scared  you've  been 
fooled,"  said  she  disappointedly.  "Padded  with 
pearls !  Why,  it 's  as  flat  as  a  pancake.  But  here 's 
something  that  will  open  it."  She  took  from  her 
pocket  a  pair  of  sharp-pointed  scissors.  "I'll  just 
rip  up  them  queer-sewed  strips  and  see  what's  in- 
side." Her  scissors  clicked  in  her  nervous  hands. 
She  was  cutting  down  from  the  top  of  the  coat. 

"Why,  sakes  alive!  Now,  I  see  where  the 
mouths  of  them  little  pockets  are  that  Flamel 
talked  about.  They're  all  around  the  arm-holes 
there  and  covered  by  that  false  pleat."  She  ran 


THE  SPIEIT  OF  THE  CHASE         249 

her  finger  under  the  edge  of  a  strip  of  braid  and 
revealed  a  half  dozen  little  round  apertures. 
"That's  them,"  she  said,  sticking  her  thin,  long 
forefinger  into  one  of  the  pockets,  "and  they  run 
down  deep.  I  think  I  feel  something  hard  in 
there. "  She  seized  the  scissors  feverishly  and  cut 
away  at  the  pocket-mouth.  "My  suz!  It's  tough 
as  hickory!  Let  me  take  your  knife,  Mr.  Tevis." 

She  clutched  the  knife  from  Tevis '  hands  and  cut 
away  at  the  pocket,  ripping  it  down.  The  pocket 
was  merely  a  tube  of  leather,  neatly  sewn — the 
same  kind  of  leather  Tevis  and  Flamel  had  found 
in  the  bottom  part  of  the  lining. 

"Yes;  here  they  are!"  she  cried  as  pearl  after 
gleaming  pearl  rolled  out  of  the  slit.  "Gracious 
sakes  alive!  Just  look  at  'em!  Ain't  they  pretty? 
And  such  a  lot!  And  there's  a  lot  of  pockets,  at 
least  ten,  under  each  sleeve." 

She  ripped  and  slashed  pocket  after  pocket,  each 
yielding  forth  its  handful  of  bright  round  gems, 
some  white,  some  black,  but  all  of  good  size  and 
shape. 

"And  here's  one  as  big  as  your  thumb,"  she  de- 
clared, as  she  ripped  through  a  pocket  larger  than 
the  rest,  containing  only  a  solitary  gem.  "That's 
worth  five  thousand  dollars  if  it's  worth  a  cent!" 
she  cried  joyfully."  "They've  been  working  for 
us — you  don't  know  how  long  they've  been  pirat- 
ing shell  piles,  but  you  can  see  what  luck  they've 
had.  It's  all  for  us !  I  don't  feel  anything  on  my 
conscience  in  taking  'em  all.  They  won't  half -pay 


250  THE    SEA    HAWK 

for  the  men  of  ours  they've  killed  or  the  risks 
we've  run  or  anything." 

She  smoothed  her  hand  over  the  gems  caressing- 
ly and  then  scooped  them  up  with  her  bony  fingers 
from  the  purple  side  of  the  coat  on  which  they  lay. 
The  talons  of  the  bird  of  prey  kept  working  eager- 
ly and  gladly  while  she  shrilled  forth : 

"Why  don't  you  say  something,  Jim?  You 
don 't  seem  to  realize  what  this  means.  Why,  we  're 
rich — rich  as  dirt — rich  as  them  diamond  dealers 
in  that  store  on  Market  street  where  we  looked  in 
that  day  to  ask  the  price  of  a  half-dozen  cheap  little 
silver  spoons.  Silver?  Our  silver  will  be  all  gold- 
lined  and  heavy  as  anchors.  And  I'm  going  back 
to  Maine  and  have  a  big  house  and  a  carriage  and 
high-stepping  horses  and  harness  covered  with 
silver.  I'll  show  them  Binghamville  folks!  I'll 
show  Mrs.  Giddings !  And  we'll  invest  our  money 
and  it  will  grow  and  some  day  we'll  have  a  private 
yacht  like  this,  and  just  as  fast.  I  wish  you  could 
realize  it,  Jim. ' ' 

"Oh,  I  realize  it  all  right,"  said  the  Captain. 
"But  I'm  thinking  about  how  we  can  get  all  this 
treasure  safe  home.  There's  all  kinds  of  things 
that  might  happen." 

"Yes,  if  you're  silly  enough  to  let  'em  happen," 
retorted  his  wife  contemptuously.  She  took  her 
buckskin  bag  out  of  the  safe  and  poured  its  con- 
tents upon  the  jacket  with  the  Chinamen's  loot. 
"See  what  a  lot  it  looks  like  now!"  she  cried,  her 
talons  scooping  the  gems  together.  "It's  thou- 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  CHASE         251 

sands  and  thousands  of  dollars.  I  wish  we  knew 
exactly.  But  it's  a  heap  of  money.  It's " 

A  great  burst  of  sound  from  below  decks  broke 
off  her  exultant  speech'.  There  was  a  series  of 
thumping  roars  and  a  screeching,  long-drawn  hiss 
as  of  escaping  steam. 

"Good  God!"  screamed  Thrale,  springing  to- 
ward the  door.  "Something's  the  matter  with  the 
boilers!" 

"Well,  I'd  like  to  know!  What  are  you  running 
out  on  deck  for?"  cried  Mrs.  Thrale,  snatching  up 
the  pearls  and  pouring  them  into  her  bag.  "Why 
don't  you  use  your  speaking-tube?" 

The  Captain  ran  to  the  pipe,  blew  down  with  a 
great  gasp  and  stood  livid  and  shaking,  with  his 
ear  to  the  hole.  Tevis  was  so  close  that  he  could 
hear  the  hard  voice  of  McLaren,  the  engineer, 
penetrating  the  uproar  from  below. 

"Blown  out  a  boiler  tube — that's  all — only 
there's  two  men  killed  and  one  pretty  badly 
scalded.  Have  to  shut  down  for  a  while." 

"Have  to  shut  down?"  repeated  Mrs.  Thrale 
when  the  Captain  told  her  the  direful  news.  "I 
guess  not.  It's  too  bad  about  those  poor  men ;  but 
that  gunboat!" 

"Yes;  she'll  be  right  on  to  us,"  groaned  the 
Captain.  "We  can't  do  anything  under  sail, 
though  the  wind  is  good.  I'll  run  up  every  stitch, 
though,  and  maybe  Mac  can  get  the  engine  in  shape 
to  do  something  before  she  comes  up. ' ' 

"Of  all  the  pesky  luck!"  Mrs.  Thrale  put  the 


252  THE    SEA    HAWK 

treasure  into  the  safe  and  slammed  the  door. 
"Well,  they  ain't  going  to  get  them  pearls  away 
from  me ! "  she  cried,  fiercely, 1 1  not  even  if  they  fire 
us  full  of  shot  and  we  sink  by  the  weight  of  'em! 
My  country !" 

"I'll  tell  you,"  said  the  Captain,  "we'll  work 
that  first  game  we  arranged  for — the  scientific 
scheme.  We've  got  the  specimens  to  show." 

"Yes;  too  many  of  'em  altogether,"  sneered  his 
wife.  "If  we  were  going  to  carry  that  out,  we'd 
ought  to  have  cleaned  up  them  shell  and  stowed 
'em  under  the  coal  or  something.  It "11  never  do 
in  the  world,  Jim,  and  you  know  it.  We've  got  to 
get  away  from  him  some  way.  Maybe  the  steam 
will  be  on  pretty  soon." 


CHAPTER  XIX 

THE   CHUBASCO 

BUT  though  every  inch  of  canvas  was  stretched 
to  the  breeze  and  the  yacht  sailed  fairly  along  over 
the  sunbright  sea,  the  hull  of  the  gunboat  grew  be- 
fore the  eyes  of  the  anxious  watchers.  Every  man 
who  could  be  of  the  least  service  in  the  engine-room 
was  set  to  work  down  there,  and  Tevis  labored 
with  the  rest.  At  the  best  all  that  could  be  done  in 
the  present  crisis  was  mere  make-shift.  It  would 
have  taken  a  skilled  boiler-maker  two  days  to  put 
the  tube  in  proper  shape,  but  they  had  no  such  man 
aboard.  Tune  was  everything.  Every  clock-tick 
counted.  When  the  engine  could  be  so  adjusted  as 
to  dispense  with  the  broken  tube,  they  could  pro- 
ceed under  steam,  though  probably  a  little  slower 
than  before.  It  was  a  time  of  intense  strain  and 
anxiety.  Though  the  chief  engineer  and  his  assist- 
ants worked  swiftly  and  tirelessly,  the  cruiser  kept 
nearing  the  yacht  and  from  moment  to  moment 
they  expected  to  hear  the  sound  of  her  guns. 

When,  however,  it  was  thought  that  the  engine 
would  be  started  again  in  a  few  minutes,  and  Tevis 
went  on  deck  to  gaze  astern  with  eager  eyes,  he 
was  glad  to  see  that  there  was  still  a  safe  distance 

263 


254  THE     SEA    HAWK 

between  them  and  the  gunboat.  She  had  evidently 
been  coming  on  a  little  slower  having  noted  their 
obviously  crippled  state. 

" What's  he  up  tol"  he  heard  the  Captain  ask 
Flamel,  as  they  scanned  the  Mexican  from  the 
bridge. 

"He  thinks  he's  got  a  snap — going  to  run  along- 
side and  take  us  in  without  firing  a  shot, ' '  said  the 
first  officer. 

"Thought  you  said  the  engines  were  ready, " 
complained  the  Captain.  "Why  the  devil  don't 
they  start  up?"  He  puffed  nervously  at  the  cigar 
which  he  held  tightly  between  lips  from  which 
all  traces  of  color  had  flown. 

"They'll  be  going  ahead  pretty  soon,"  said 
Flamel  confidently. 

But  the  screw  lay  silent,  and,  to  add  to  their  un- 
easiness, the  breeze  fell  away,  the  booms  swayed 
idly,  and  the  yacht's  head  began  to  veer  unsteadily. 

"Gee!"  cried  Flamel  desperately,  "We  haven't 
even  got  steering  way. ' ' 

"For  God's  sake,"  cried  the  Captain,  whistle 
down  to  the  engine-room,  Flamel.  He's  got  to 

start  up  right  away  or "  He  looked  back  with 

frenzied  eyes  at  the  gunboat. 

"Says  he  can't  get  her  to  work  just  yet,"  was 
Flamel 's  cheerless  word  for  the  engineer.  "Well, 
we've  got  Espiritu  aft  us  now,  and  we're  nearly 
off  San  Jose.  If  he  starts  her  up  right  away  we 
can  run  close  ashore  in  some  of  those  wide  shallow 
places  where  they  won't  dare  follow.  There's 


THE  CHUBASCO  255 

miles  of  short  soundings  there,  and  those  gun- 
boats are  all  deep  draught." 

Steadily  the  General  Torres  came  on.  It  would 
not  be  long  before  she  would  be  within  hailing  dis- 
tance. Despite  what  Flamel  had  said  about  her 
running  alongside,  Tevls  momentarily  expected 
to  hear  the  roar  of  her  guns. 

Of  a  sudden  the  yacht  veered  about  in  the  slack- 
ening tide,  her  steering  chains  clattering  and  the 
shadows  shifting  aboard. 

"It's  all  up  with  us — I  can  see  that  plain 
enough!"  moaned  Thrale,  setting  his  teeth  hard 
upon  his  burnt  out  cigar. 

"No!"  There  was  wild  exultance  in  Mrs. 
Thrale 's  tone.  "We're  going  to  make  it  all  right 
yet,  and  that's  what  will  save  us!"  She  pointed 
over  the  bow  to  where  the  sky  was  streaked  and 
blotted  as  with  enormous  inkstains.  "That's  a 
chubasco,  as  sure  as  guns,  and  as  dirty  a  one  as 
you  ever  saw  on  the  Gulf.  And  do  you  think  he  '11 
stand  for  it?  No,  siree!  There's  a  safer  place  to 
leeward  of  that  point  over  tKere,  and  he'll  run  for 
it." 

"Think  so?"  said  the  Captain. 

"Yes;  you  wait  till  she  begins  to  drive;  then 
this  little  picnic  will  be  all  over  for  him.  It's  noth- 
ing much  to  his  credit  anyway  if  he  takes  us,  and 
he'll  postpone  the  pleasure  and  'tend  to  his  own 
knitting. ' ' 

"But  how  about  usV    The  chubasco  will  be 


256  THE    SEA    HAWK 

worse  for  us  than  it  is  for  Mm ! ' '  Thrale  groaned 
aloud  in  abject  misery. 

"Us!"  she  sneered  contemptuously.  "Why, 
we'll  run  before  the  wind,  if  it  takes  the  two  sticks 
out  of  her.  We  Ve  got  to  do  it,  or  they'll  catch  us 
as  soon  as  it's  over.  They  blow  past  pretty  quick, 
if  you  lay  head  on,  but  if  you  run  with  'em  they'll 
take  you  a  long  ways. ' ' 

Even  as  she  spoke  the  near  water  whitened  in 
the  first  rush  of  the  great  squall.  The  wind  flirted 
in  their  faces,  the  yacht  heeled  and  shivered  and 
raced  away  before  the  gathering  blast.  The  crew 
ran  to  their  stations  in  anticipation  of  orders  to 
shorten  sail.  The  Captain  sprang  into  the  house 
to  glance  at  the  glass  and  came'  out  with  a  very 
pale  face. 

1 1  Never  mind,  Jim !  We  '11  fight  this  thing  out !  '* 
cried  Mrs.  Thrale,  with  a  defiant  sweep  of  her  hand 
toward  the  coal-black  cloud  that  was  scurrying 
down  upon  them.  If  you'll  give  the  orders  I'll 
stay  up  here  in  the  house  with  Mr.  Tevis  and  send 
him  to  you  if  anything  happens. ' ' 

"All  right,"  said  Thrale,  meekly.  "Keep  her 
nor'  by  nor 'east,"  he  called  to  the  man  at  the 
wheel,  "and  dead  before  the  wind."  He  turned 
and  said  to  his  wife :  Maybe  we  can  run  it  out,  but 
we've  got  too  much  sail  up.  Mains '1  ought  to  be 
doubled-reefed,  and  the  others  taken  in." 

"Single  reef  all  around  will  do  all  right,"  in- 
sisted Mrs.  Thrale,  "and  not  a  stitch  more  down 
till  we  have  to.  Them  masts  are  stubby  as  iron- 


THE  CHUBASCO  257 

wood  trees.  They'll  stand  all  right.  They've  got 
to!" 

The  wheel  house  shook,  there  was  a  banging-to 
of  doors  on  the  lower  deck  and  the  wind  hooted 
over  their  heads  as  the  blackness  spread  about 
them.  The  Captain  ran  out  to  give  his  orders, 
Flamel  going  with  him,  remarking  quietly  to  Tevis, 
as  he  went: 

"This  is  her  doings:  but  there's  more  dirt  in 
this  thing  than  she  thinks.  I  wish  she  and  her 
pearls  were  safe  ashore  somewhere.  She'd  drown 
us  all  for  the  sake  of  a  handful  of  the  gritty 
things. ' ' 

Mrs.  Thrale  glanced  at  the  glass  and  scowled. 
Then  she  glared  through  the  darkness,  her  eyes 
ranging  all  about  the  sea. 

* i  Good ! ' '  she  smiled.  ' '  The  dagoes  have  given 
it  up!  Can't  see  'em  anywhere.  That  was  quick, 
wasn  't  it  f  They  're  off  to  leeward  of  the  point,  and 
they  won't  see  hide  or  hair  of  us  when  it's  all  over. 
We'll  be  forty  miles  away  if  we're  an  inch." 

There  was  a  boom  and  clatter  of  mingled  noises, 
shrieking  wind,  straining  plates  and  timbers  and 
ripping,  swashing  seas.  The  wind  scuffled  with 
the  yacht  like  a  vicious  wrestler,  the  deck  was 
swept  by  scudding  rivers  of  waters,  and  then  lay 
steeply  aslant  to  the  sea  as  the  wind  raged  to  an- 
other quarter  in  its  wild,  cyclonic  twists.  A  chair 
in  the  wheelhouse  went  crashing  down  and  Mrs. 
Thrale  ami  Tevis  were  banged  against  the  table, 


258  THE     SEA    HAWK 

nearly  embracing  each  other  in  their  efforts  to 
keep  upright. 

The  quartermaster  was  working  hard  at  the 
wheel,  upon  which  he  bent  his  whole  weight  at 
times.  Mrs.  Thrale  looked  at  the  glass  again,  and 
the  bar  sinister  came  to  her  forehead,  as  the  Cap- 
tain blew  in  with  a  gust,  dripping  all  over  with 
spray,  his  sodden  cigar-stub  in  his  mouth,  and  his 
eyes  wild  with  terror. 

' 1 Them  sails  has  all  got  to  come  down,"  he 
wailed  dismally. 

"I  guess  so,"  she  replied,  looking  at  the  glass 
again,  and  shaking  her  head,  "but  I  hate  like  any- 
thing to  do  it.  Not  just  yet,  Jim.  Wait  till  it 
comes  a  little  harder.  Get  hold  of  that  wheel  with 
Joe,  will  you,  Mr.  Tevis  ? ' ' 

Tevis  obeyed  the  order  with  alacrity. 

"I  don't  see  why  in  Sam  Hill  I  can't  run  this 
ship  myself,"  whined  the  Captain.  "She'll  turn 
turtle  as  sure  as  guns,  if  they  don't  come  down 
right  away.  We  're  short-handed.  We  can 't ' ' 

"Oh,  do  it  if  you  want  to !"  she  cried,  and  Tevis 
blessed  her  inwardly  for  the  words;  for  the 
thought  of  Hazel,  crouching  terrified  somewhere 
below,  nearly  obsessed  him.  ' i  But  don 't  blame  me, 
Jim  Thrale,  if  that  gunboat  catches  us  after  all. ' ' 

Thrale  ran  out  like  a  deer  and  bawled  his  orders 
to  the  men;  Tevis  saw  the  foresail  sweep  down  to 
the  boom,  where  the  men  fought  with  the  whipping 
gaskets,  and  he  rejoiced  to  see  the  righting  of  the 
ship,  and  to  note  the  relief  of  her  terrible  strain. 


THE  CHUBASCO  259 

The  mainsail  was  taken  in ;  but  still  they  scudded 
before  the  blast,  and  the  spray  blew  over  their 
stern. 

Mrs.  Thrale  blew  down  the  tube  again  and  again, 
but  there  was  no  reply.  At  last  she  sprang  back, 
her  face  wrinkled  in  a  triumphant  smile. 

"They're  getting  up  steam — steam — steam!" 
she  cried.  Glory !  We  can  scoot  to  the  end  of  the 
Gulf  now,  if  we  want  to,  and  the  dagoes  will  never 
set  eyes  on  us  again !" 

While  she  spoke  there  came  the  good,  grinding 
feel  of  the  screw.  The  tension  on  the  wheel  re- 
laxed, as  the  steering-gear  came  into  play  again, 
and  Tevis  and  the  quartermaster  wiped  the  sweat 
from  their  faces. 


CHAPTER  XX 

A  BRUSH  WITH  THE  JUNKS 

BY  mid-afternoon  the  storm  relented.  Luminous 
streaks  shot  through  the  inkstains  and  whitened 
the  wave  crests,  and  when  they  ran  under  the  lee  of 
a  small  anonymous  island  and  lost  the  cross-swell 
and  the  Titanic  lift  of  the  wind  they  felt  that  they 
were  out  of  harm's  way.  The  Mexican  was  no- 
where. Mrs.  Thrale  was  in  the  hallelujah  stage  of 
jubilation ;  the  Captain  was  still  pale,  and  Flamel 
went  about  shaking  his  head.  He  told  Tevis  he 
had  had  enough  of  feminine  mastery  aboard  ship. 

"Why,  twice  there  she  nearly  ran  us  under, "  he 
complained.  "We  lost  three  men — washed  over- 
board from  the  f oward  deck,  and  a  couple  of  others 
are  hurt.  I  wanted  to  give  the  order  to<  cut  away 
everything,  but  the  Captain  wouldn't  stand  for  it. 
She  braced  him  up.  Good  thing  the  crew  didn't 
know  who  was  doing  it.  There  was  blue  hell  among 
'em  as  it  was.  They  thought  the  old  man  was 
crazy. ' ' 

Tevis  started  down  the  companionway  to  see 
Hazel.  Some  of  the  men  had  been  knocked  about 
and  hurt,  and  he  had  seen  little  Yokio  with  his 

260 


A  BRUSH  WITH  THE  JUNKS         261 

arm  in  a  sling.  He  was  afraid  something  might 
have  happened  to  the  girl.  But  on  the  last  step  he 
met  her,  coming  up.  She  was  wrapped  in  a  long 
ulster  through  which  the  wind  outlined  the  shape- 
ly curves  of  her  form. 

"Wasn't  it  terrible ?"  she  said.  " We  didn't  have 
it  half  as  bad  as  that  coming  around  the  Horn.  But 
when  they  got  steam  up  it  seemed  to  help  things.'71' 

* '  Yes, ' '  he  said, l  i  the  engine  is  running  all  right 
now.  Weren  't  you  awfully  frightened  1 ' ' 

"Not  as  much  as  I  should  have  been,  I  suppose. 
You  see  I  have  a  perfectly  absurd  faith  in  the 
yacht.  Where  are  we  now?  Is  the  cruiser  in 
sight?" 

Before  Tevis  could  reply  she  tripped  up  the  com- 
panionway  and  he  followed.  She  was  very  fetch- 
ing in  her  close-clinging  habit,  and  when  she 
stepped  on  deck  the  wind  made  sweet  mischief  with 
her  hair. 

"Why,"  she  exclaimed,  "We're  near  a  new 
island,  and  the  storm  is  over.  But  I  don't  see  any- 
thing of  the  gunboat. ' ' 

"No;  we've  run  away  from  her,  a  long  way,  I 
think.  She  won 't  bother  us  any  more. ' ' 

"You  know,"  she  said,  clutching  at  her  cap, 
"I've  been  thinking  about  those  poor  wounded 
men  who  were  shot  by  the  highbinders.  I  thought 
about  them  all  through  the  storm,  and  I  wondered 
what  I  could  do  for  them.  It  must  have  been  terri- 
ble for  the  poor  fellows  when  we  were  tossing 
about.  I  wanted  to  go  to  them  and  do  something 


262  THE    SEA    HAWK 

for  them,  but  it  was  so  rough.  All  I  could  do  was 
to  hold  on  to  my  berth." 

They  went  foward  and  down  into  the  steward's 
room  to  inquire  about  his  charges.  There  they 
were  told  that  two  of  the  men  had  died  during  the 
storm.  The  others,  who  were  not  so  badly  hurt, 
were  likely  to  recover. 

"And  to  think, "  cried  Hazel,  "that  their  lives 
went  out  in  all  that  din  and  uproar!  Oh,  why 
wasn't  I  here  to  do  something  for  them?" 

"Don't  take  on,  Miss,"  said  the  steward.  "No- 
body could  have  helped  them.  They  had  to  go.  I 
saw  that  at  the  first,  and  it's  better  they  didn't 
linger  along  and  suffer." 

'  *  It  may  be,  but  I  feel  guilty, ' '  she  insisted.  ' '  I 
could  have  done  something — I  know  I  could  have 
done  something.  But  these  others  whom  you  say 
were  not  badly  hurt.  Let  me  help  take  care  of 
them." 

"If  you  want  to,  Miss,"  said  the  steward. 
"There's  one  that  has  a  hatchet  cut  in  his 
shoulder,  one  with  his  leg  broke,  one  with  his  head 
smashed,  and " 

Tevis  raised  his  finger  warningly,  behind 
Hazel's  back  and  the  steward  ceased  his  recital  of 
horrors. 

"Here's  the  Jap,"  he  said,  as  Yokio  entered  the 
room.  "I  haven't  had  time  to  put  a  proper  ban- 
dage on  his  arm.  It  isn't  broken,  but  he  got  a  bad 
knock." 

"Let  me  attend  to  it — tell  me  what  to  do." 


A  BRUSH  WITH  THE  JUNKS         263 

Hazel  laid  aside  her  ulster  and  cap.  "I'm  going 
to  be  nurse,"  she  said  smiling.  Tevis  was  glad 
for  her  sake  that  she  had  found  an  outlet  for  her 
eager  sympathies. 

"Here's  Mrs.  Thrale,"  she  said  while  she  was 
winding  the  bandage  around  the  Jap's  arm  and  he 
was  helping  her,  holding  the  roll  of  absorbent  cot- 
ton. 

"Yes,"  said  the  sea  hawk,  I've  brought  down 
some  elderberry  wine  for  them  that  needs  it. 
There 's  nothing  better: ' ' 

"Thank  you,  Mrs.  Thrale,"  said  the  steward, 
taking  the  bottle  from  her  hands. 

"Now  mind  you,"  she  adjured  him,  "it's  only 
for  the  sick  folks." 

They  held  their  northward  course  under  a  shin- 
ing sun  and  a  calming  sea  and  before  dark  passed 
among  the  islands  of  Santa  Catalina,  Monserrate 
and  Carmen. 

Next  morning  they  were  at  anchor  off  Tiburon 
Island  and  the  sea  lay  about  them  like  a  slab  of 
jade.  The  dead  had  been  consigned  to  the  deep 
just  before  sunrise  when  Tiburon  was  fairly  in 
sight.  Flamel  said  to  Tevis  as  the  water  quietly 
closed  over  the  last  of  the  dead  men: 

"Mighty  short-handed  now— hardly  enough  men 
to  handle  the  ship.  As  for  pearl  diving,  I  guess 
it 'sail  off." 

But  as  they  neared  Tiburon  the  old  avid  look 
came  into  Mrs.  Thrale 's  eyes  again. 


264  THE    SEA    HAWK 

"Nothing  has  ever  been  done  on  these  banks  to 
amount  to  anything, ' '  she  said  to  Flamel. ' '  There 's 
been  an  awfully  savage  tribe — the  Seris — living 
on  the  island,  and  they  'd  go  for  anybody  that  came 
near.  But  they're  thinned  down  now  so  there 
ain't  many  of  'em  left,  and  it's  safe  enough.  Cap- 
tain thinks  we'd  better  stay  up  in  these  waters  for 
a  while  anyway  till  the  gunboat  forgets  about  us 
or  takes  after  somebody  else.  So  we  may  as  well 
improve  our  time.  We'll  let  everybody  rest  until 
to-morrow,  and  then  we'll  wet  some  of  that  extra 
tubing. ' ' 

Flamel  was  full  of  scorn  because  of  the  purposed 
extension  of  the  diving  work. 

"Why,  we  can't  man  two  boats  properly,"  he 
complained  to  Tevis,  "and  with  that  highbinder 
clean-up  we've  got  as  much  stuff  as  if  we'd  stayed 
here  all  summer.  The  old  cormorant  never  will 
get  enough.  What  we  ought  to  do  is  to  run  down 
to  Guaymas  harbor,  leave  the  yacht,  sneak  ashore 
and  make  off  overland  on  the  railroad,  back  to  the 
States.  And,  mind  you,  the  loss  of  the  men  means 
a  lot  more  of  loot  for  her  anyway — their  shares 
will  all  go  to  the  ship." 

He  went  to  the  Captain  who  agreed  with  him  in 
his  usual  tentative  way  and  said  he  would  "see.'* 
But  Mrs.  Thrale  won,  as  Tevis  knew  she  would. 

They  worked  along  the  island  coves  for  a  week, 
keeping  always  to  the  northward.  The  diving  was 
all  done  in  the  daytime,  but  they  were  not  molested. 
Not  a  sail  did  they  see  out  on  the  Gulf,  not  a  soul 


A  BRUSH  WITH  THE  JUNKS         265 

ashore.  If  the  Seris  saw  the  yacht,  which  is  likely, 
they  made  Ho  demonstration. 

The  banks  were  rich,  but  not  so  fruitful  as  Mrs. 
Thrale  had  anticipated,  and  with  only  two  divers 
at  work,  they  did  not  greatly  increase  the  bulk  of 
the  treasure. 

Despite  Sir  Charles 'jealousy  of  him,Tevis  often 
found  himself  at  Hazel 's  side.  They  talked,  read, 
played  ring1  quoits  on  deck  or  he  turned  the  music 
for  her  at  the  piano.  The  young  woman,  who  was 
essentially  a  social  being,  must,  as  Tevis  argued 
self-interestedly,  often  have  found  the  company 
of  the  unwieldly  Sir  Charles  rather  wearisome. 
But  though  she  was  willing  to  be  entertained  by 
Tevis  and  particularly  enjoyed  the  ring  quoits,  he 
remarked,  with  a  touch  of  irritation,  that  she 
seemed  never  to  forget  her  duty  to  the  man  she 
had  promised  to  marry. 

"I'm  afraid,"  she  said  to  him  one  evening  as 
they  stood  on  the  forward  deck,  well  up  in  the  bow, 
watching  the  sun  sink,  crimson  and  swollen,  into 
the  western  sea,  "that  I'm  a  pretty  poor  pirate 
after  all.  You  don't  know  how  I've  been  longing 
to  slip  into  an  opera  cloak  and  go  to  hear  '  Lohen- 
grin* or  something." 

"An  opera  cloak  would  look  strange  here,"  he 
sighed,  not  fancying  the  flight  she  was  taking,  for 
it  placed  her  in  one  of  her  remote  longitudes. 

"Yes;  but  it's  November,  and  the  Metropolitan 
season  is  open.  The  last  time  I  went  it  was  with 
father  and  Mrs.  Poindexter.  It  was  'I  Pagliacci.' 


266  THE    SEA    HAWK 

Caruso  was  wonderful!"  She  sighed  gently. 
"But  this  cruise  can't  last  forever,"  she  went  on. 
"Mrs.  Thrale  will  be  getting  her  bag  full  of  pearls, 
and  then  she'll  be  willing  to  make  port." 

"No;  it  can't  last  forever."  He  looked  at  her 
with  a  clinging  fondness  and  sighed  in  his  turn. 

There  was  a  sudden  stir  forward.  The  Captain's 
boat  call  shrilled  forth  in  a  high  tremolo  and  then 
a  blast  from  the  steam  whistle  rent  the  air. 

"The  junks  again!"  cried  Hazel,  pointing  to 
where  the  lug-sails  came  trailing  about  the  lower 
point,  making  straight  toward  the  yacht  under  a 
fresh  breeze. 

"Yes,"  he  said,  starting  forward  at  a  signal 
from  Flamel.  "He's  calling  in  the  boats.  There 
are  two  diving  crews  out  to-day." 

"Oh,  I  hope  the  Chinamen  won't  attack  them!" 
he  heard  her  say  as  he  hurried  along  the  deck. 

"Well,  Tevis,"  said  the  first  officer  as  he  neared 
him  and  they  were  both  nervously  intent  upon  the 
approaching  junks,  "they  look  like  business, 
don't  they?  They're  heading  straight  for  the 
boats.  They'll  clean  'em  up  unless  we  can  run 
over  in  time  to  do  something." 

They  sprang  forward  to  where  the  Captain  was 
ordering  up  the  anchor  and  blowing  his  boat-call 
until  he  was  red  in  the  face.  The  divers  had  been 
pulled  into  the  boats  and  the  men  were  rowing 
wildly  toward  the  yacht,  but  four  junks  now  inter- 
posed in  a  deadly  line  and  rifle-shots  began  to  fly. 

"Jim,  we  must  run  in  and  save  them  boats ! ' '  de~ 


A  BRUSH  WITH  THE  JUNKS         267 

clared  Mrs.  Thrale.  * '  No  use  yon  whistling  to  'em 
any  more.  We  Ve  got  to  run  in  and  save  'em  from 
the  Chinamen." 

*  *  Maybe  so — if  we  can, ' '  was  the  nervous  reply. 
"But  it's  shoal  water  in  there.  It's  a  big  risk — it's 
a  big  risk;  and  the  Chinamen  may  board  us — we'll 
have  to  go  slow,  with  the  sounding  lines." 

"But  we  ought  to  try  for  it,  Captain,"  urged 
Flamel.  And  so  Thrale  reluctantly  gave  the  order, 
the  screw  began  to  whirr  and  the  yacht  headed 
shoreward,  moving  slowly  while  the  head-line 
swished  in  the  shallow  water. 

Meantime  Tevis  managed  to  get  Hazel  below, 
though  she  had  insisted  upon  staying  on  deck, 
where  Mrs.  Thrale  was  flitting  about  and  Sir 
Charles  .was  big  and  brave  with  the  largest  rifle 
he  could  find  in  the  gun-rack,  banging  away  at  the 
junks,  though  Flamel  had  ordered  that  no  one 
should  fire  until  the  command  was  given. 

"You're  putting  me  down  here  out  of  harm's 
way,"  cried  Hazel  to  Tevis  "while  you  are  going 
up  on  deck,  and  the  Chinamen  are  coming."  Her 
round  cheeks  whitened  as  she  spoke. 

4 '  Stay  here  in  this  corner, ' '  he  commanded,  lead- 
ing her  into  the  little  library  alcove  and  seating 
her  among  the  book-cases.  "Keep  this  pistol  in 
your  hand  all  the  time.  If  they  board  us,  I'll  run 
down  here  and  look  out  for  you." 

' '  Thank  you — thank  you ! ' '  she  cried.  i '  But  you 
must  be  careful.  They  will  fire  upon  the  yacht, 


268  THE    SEA    HAWK 

won't  they?  What  will  happen  if  they — Oh,  you 
mustn't  expose  yourself — you  mustn't!" 

He  closed  a  port  hole  near  her  and  told  her  to 
keep  away  from  it.  Then  he  started  to  leave  her, 
glancing  back  to  where  she  sat  among  the  book- 
cases. In  that  moment  of  their  great  peril  she 
seemed  doubly  dear  to  him.  Her  half -finished 
question,  "What  would  happen  if  the  hatchetmen 
came  aboard?"  gave  him  a  heart-sick  feeling. 
Well,  he  would  do  his  best  to  see  that  they  did  not 
come  aboard.  Of  course  the  yacht  could  steam 
quickly  away  from  them  were  it  not  for  the  men 
in  the  divers'  boats  whom  to  leave  in  the  lurch 
would  have  been  a  craven  act.  He  rushed  up  the 
companion,  rifle  in  hand,  just  as  Flamel  gave  the 
order  to  fire.  It  was  but  a  feeble  volley,  that  whicK 
was  directed  upon  the  junks  from  the  yacht,  and  it 
did  not  cause  the  Chinamen  to  desist  for  a  mo- 
ment from  their  fell  purpose  of  destroying  the 
poorly  armed  men  in  the  small  boats  who  were 
falling  like  flies  under  their  deadly  fire.  When 
the  last  helpless  man  in  the  nearest  boat  dropped 
limply  across  a  thwart,  the  great  eyes  of  his  glossy 
diving  helmet  staring  up  to  heaven,  Tevis  groaned 
aloud  and,  standing  by  Flamel 's  side,  pumped  lead 
with  a  fierce,  vengeful  hand.  As  the  yacht  neared 
the  small  boats  he  could  see  two  wounded  men  try- 
ing to  rise.  One  had  a  pistol  in  his  hand  which  he 
bravely  fired  at  the  Chinamen. 

The  nearest  junk  now  came  about  and  showed 
her  big  ugly  figurehead — a  dragon  with  enormous 


A  BRUSH  WITH  THE  JUNKS         269 

red  eyes  and  a  yellow  crest.  Her  men  were  not 
visible,  as  they  lay  behind  the  gunwale,  but  their 
rifles  spat  vindictively  and  their  bullets  whistled 
over  the  yacht  or  plunked  against  its  side.  An- 
other dragon  turned  its  great  red  eyes  upon  the 
yacht  and  still  another. 

"Bout  ship!  bout  ship!"  rang  Thrale's  wild 
order. 

"Isn't  he  going  to  try  to  save  the  wounded  men 
in  the  boats  ?"  cried  Tevis  to  Flamel. 

"What's  the  use?"  was  the  cool  reply.  "They'd 
be  shot  all  to  pieces  by  those  nearest  Chinks  before 
we  could  do  a  thing. ' ' 

The  yacht  headed  about  speedily.  There  was  a 
tremendous  rattle  of  shots  from  the  junks  and  a 
half-dozen  bullets  ploughed  into  the  woodwork  of 
the  house  near  them.  A  Swede  fell  heavily  upon 
the  forward  deck,  his  rifle  clanging  down. 

"Too  bad!"  cried  Flamel.  "There  goes  an- 
other man.  But  we're  getting  away  from  them 
pretty  lively  now." 

The  junks  quickly  fell  astern.  Walden,  who  had 
not  been  seen  upon  the  deck  during  the  real  attack, 
came  up  the  companion,  white-faced,  but  ready 
for  a  few  departing  shots  which  he  delivered 
solemnly.  Then,  with  a  knowing  shake  of  the  head 
he  went  below  again. 

Tevis  was  just  about  to  go  below  and  reassure 
Hazel  of  their  safety,  when  he  heard  the  shrill  call 
of  a  woman 's  voice  behind  him : 

*  '  The  gunboat !    Do  you  see  her  1    Look  there ! ' ' 


270  THE    SEA    HAWK 

Mrs.  Thrale  pointed  southward  where,  whisking 
around  the  cape  with  belching  funnel,  the  General 
Torres  was  coming  on  under  full  steam.  l  '  And  the 
Chinamen— see  'em  scoot  for  shore!  That's  all 
they  can  do  now.  They've  sunk  both  our  boats,  the 
murderers,  and  there's  nothing  left  for  us  but  to 
vamoose." 


CHAPTEB   XXI 

IN  THE  CLAWS  OF  THE  SEA  HAWK 

THE  yacht  was  heading  northward  and  the  pro- 
peller was  beating  wildly,  but  with  her  poorly 
working  engine  she  could  not  make  her  best  speed. 
The  Mexican  was  coming  on,  sending  an  occasional 
shot  hurtling  over  them.  But  amid  all  their  ex- 
citement the  view  of  the  shoreward  flight  of  the 
Mongols  presented  itself  as  the  most  vivid  part 
of  the  picture.  The  quick,  scrambling,  vitascopic 
action  of  the  hatchetmen  as  they  made  away  from 
the  junks,  in  their  frantic  rush  for  shore,  piping 
mad  calls  to  each  other,  fighting  wildly  for  places 
in  the  boats,  and  pulling  like  demons  at  big-bladed 
oars  that  splashed  in  the  water  or  "caught  crabs" 
in  the  lurch  and  toss  of  the  overloaded  little  craft, 
was  a  strange  sight  and  quite  grotesque  in  some 
of  its  aspects. 

But  on  the  smaller  junk  of  the  four  a  number  of 
men  remained.  The  bow  was  pointed  obliquely  in- 
shore and  the  lug-sail  slanted  down  until  its  boom 
dragged  in  the  water. 

"They're  going  to  beach  her,"  exclaimed 
Flamel,  "and  let  the  others  drift.  Wonder  if  the 
dagoes  will  think  they're  worth  picking  up.  Yes; 
they're  slowing  down." 

271 


272  THE     SEA    HAWK 

They  watched  the  slackening  cruiser,  while  the 
yacht's  wake  widened  and  she  flew  north  like  a 
wild  goose. 

i  '  They  're  lowering  a  boat,"  said  Flamel. 
" She's  full  of  marines.  And  there's  another.  On 
Yick  has  put  'em  up  to  this — he's  been  complain- 
ing of  them,  no  doubt."  ' 

But  no  sooner  were  the  boats  in  the  water  than 
the  cruiser  headed  for  the  yacht  again.  She  had 
merely  sent  the  marines  off  to  secure  the  junks 
while  she  renewed  the  chase  of  the  yacht.  Tevis 
started  with  Flamel  for  the  bridge. 

"I  don't  know  what  we're  going  to  do,"  said 
the  Captain  scratching  his  fuzzy  beard.  "Even 
if  we  get  away  from  the  gunboat  we're  so  short- 
handed,  there's  hardly  going  to  be  men  enough  to 
fire  up.  "We  shouldn't  have  let  any  of  the  coal- 
passers  go  out  in  the  boats,  Emily." 

1 '  May  I  come  up  and  see  ? ' '  Hazel 's  soft,  round 
face  showed  above  the  edge  of  the  bridge.  "What 
has  happened?  Is  that  the  cruiser  after  us 
again  f ' ' 

Tevis  gave  her  his  hand  to  help  her  up  the  last 
step  to  the  bridge.  He  explained  their  position, 
saying  hopefully  that  as  they  had  been  able  to  run 
away  from  the  Mexican  before,  they  should  doubt- 
less do  so  again.  She  referred  to  the  crippled 
boiler  and  looked  a  little  anxious,  remarking  that 
their  speed  did  not  seem  to  be  so  great  as  it  was  in 
the  former  chase. 

As  Tevis  looked  back  to  the  cove  they  had  just 


IN  THE  CLAWS  OF  THE  SEA  HAWK  273 

left  lie  was  sad.  He  thought  of  the  brave  men  who 
^had  gone  down  in  the  boats  sunk  by  the  pirates. 
Among  them  had  been  the  doughty  Pederson  and 
Jim  Reynolds,  his  faithful  helper  in  the  dynamo 
room. 

He  and  Hazel  remained  on  the  bridge  half  an 
hour,  during  which  the  positions  of  the  two 
steamers  seemed  to  be  practically  unaltered,  al- 
though Captain  Thrale  declared  from  time  to  time 
that  the  Torres  was  gaining.  The  yacht  hugged 
the  northwest  shoulder  of  the  island  and  then  stood 
eastward  toward  the  Sonoran  coast,  it  being  the 
Captain's  idea  that  in  dodging  the  numerous  head- 
lands he  could.better  shake  off  his  pursuer,  as  the 
Mexican  was  bound  to  lose  sight  of  the  Searcher 
now  and  again.  Thus  in  rounding  the  northwest 
cape,  with  its  upstanding  cliffs,  the  smoke  of  the 
gunboat  vanished  from  their  view. 

"I'm  glad  we've  lost  her,"  said  Hazel,  "if  it's 
only  for  a  little  while.  She  seems  to  be  following 
us  like  a  hound  after  a  deer.  Where  are  we  now? ' ' 
She  addressed  the  question  to  Tevis,  but  he  could 
not  answer  her  more  definitely  than  to  say  that 
they  were  off  the  north  coast  of  Tiburon  Island 
and  were  running  eastward. 

"Let's  go  in  and  see,"  he  said,  and  they  stepped 
into  the  pilot-house,  where  the  chart  of  the  Gulf 
lay  out-spread  upon  the  table.  t '  Here  is  Tiburon, ' ' 
he  pointed  out  the  island. 

"Why,  it's  close  to  the  Mexican  coast,"  she  said, 
leaning  over  the  map,  the  tip  of  her  pretty  fore- 


274  THE     SEA    HAWK 

finger  on  a  long  narrow  strait  that  separated  the 
island  from  the  mainland.  "I  hadn't  any  idea  it 
was  so  near.  Let's  see — what  is  the  name  of  that 
coast  land?  'Desierto  Encinas.'  The  Encinas 
Desert.  And  look  at  all  those  rugged  mountains. 
A  very  forbidding  coast,  isn't  it?" 

"Yes;  everything  about  the  Gulf  seems  to  be 
rugged,  harsh  and  dry." 

As  he  looked  at  the  chart  he  wondered  what  the 
Captain's  object  was  in  making  toward  the  main- 
land. If  the  Mexican  gained  on  them  at  the  present 
rate  he  would  run  them  down  in  less  than  three 
hours  unless  they  should  be  able  to  dodge  him. 
Tevis  measured  off  the  north  coast  of  the  island  by 
the  scale.  It  was  fifteen  miles  from  the  northwest 
cape  to  Pearl  Point,  above  which  the  mainland 
made  a^great  Gulfward  sweep,  rounding  itself  into 
a  curved  inclosure,  something  like  a  large  bay,  to 
which  the  strait  between  the  island  and  the  main- 
land formed  a  long  narrow  southward-stretching 
outlet.  It  seemed  likely  that  it  was  the  Captain's 
intention  to  run  down  the  strait,  which  was  four  or 
five  miles  wide  and  twenty-five  miles  long,  and  by 
dodging  in  about  the  headlands,  keep  out  of  the 
Mexican's  clutches. 

Hazel  saw  him  pause  with  his  finger  upon  the 
long  outlet,  which  might  be  their  way  to  freedom. 

"What  is  that  name— <Estr echo  Infiernillo?" 

1 1  Little  Hell  Strait, ' '  he  translated.  l i  See  at  the 
opening  of  it,  there,  'Boco  Infierno' — Hell 
Mouth." 


IN  THE  CLAWS  OF  THE  SEA  HAWK  275 

"With  ^unta  Tormenta  on  one  side  and  Punta 
Desperacion  on  the  other.  I  can  tell  what  those 
mean." 

"They  look  cheerful,  don't  they?"  said  he. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  he  was  not  at  all  pleased  by 
the  outlook.  What  was  this  Little  Hell,  into  which 
one  voyaged  between  Point  Torment  and  Point 
Desperation?  He  had  never  had  much  confidence 
in  Thrale  as  a  navigator.  Was  he  about  to  put 
the  yacht  and  the  remnant  of  her  company,  to- 
gether with  the  precious  life  of  Hazel  Braisted,  in 
dire  peril,  that  he  might  escape  from  the  lesser 
danger  of  capture  by  a  modern  cruiser,  whose  com- 
mander would  probably  treat  them  gently  enough 
after  confiscating  their  craft  and  treasure? 

Glancing  ashore  he  saw  that  they  were  round- 
ing another  headland  and  were  making  toward 
the  Little  Hell  as  fast  as  steam  could  propel  them. 
Then  he  looked  astern.  The  Mexican  was  coming 
on,  grimly  and  swiftly,  gaining  on  them  at  every 
turn  of  her  screw. 

"It  ain't  any  use,  Emily,"  Thrale  said  as  he  and 
his  wife  stepped  nervously  into  the  wheelhouse. 
"He's  got  us.  We  may  run  along  for  a  mile  or 
two,  but  we  might  just  as  well  head  about,  and 
wait  for  him." 

' '  And  run  up  a  white  flag  ? ' '  she  sneered.  ' '  And 
take  our  pearls  aboard  and  hand  the  whole  bag 
over  to  the  greasy  dago,  with  our  compliments 
and  best  wishes?  I'd  like  to  know!  No,  siree! 
We're  going  to  run  that  strait,  just  as  I  told  you 


276  THE    SEA    HAWK 

we  would.  He  won't  dare  to  follow,  and  you  know 
it." 

'  'You're  going  to  run  the  Little  Hell!"  gasped 
Tevis.  "Have  you  looked  at  the  chart!  Have 
you " 

''That's  just  it,"  cried  the  Captain,  clutching 
at  the  implied  remonstrance  as  to  a  friendly  sup- 
port, "she  doesn't  know  what  it  means.  I've 
looked  it  all  up.  It  isn't  navigable.  It's  got  a 
worse  tide  than  the  Bay  of  Funday.  It's  full  of 
ugly  cross  currents,  rips,  williwaws,  reefs,  rocks 
and  everything.  Look  here!  Here's  McGee's  re- 
port on  the  thing."  He  drew  a  little  book  from 
a  locker  and  opened  it  with  quivering  fingers. 
' '  '  Bahia  Kunkaak — funnel-shaped  embayment,  so 
placed  as  to  receive  half  the  volume  of  the  incom- 
ing tide  and  to  concentrate  the  flow  into  a  bore, 
hurtling  through  Boca  Infierno  and  thence  through 
the  shooting  strait  with  greatly  accelerated  ve- 
locity. From  the  Bahia  Teopa  (that's  up  here;" 
he  pointed  to  the  chart — "we're  just  getting  into 
it)  there  is  an  unobstructed  inflow  by  which 
the  strait  is  reflooded  with  a  counterbore  *  *  * 
waters,  heaped,  pounded  into  an  unstable  churning 
mass.  Flooding  is  little  less  than  catastrophic  in 
magnitude  and  suddenness.'  " 

"I  wouldn't  be  scared  out  by  a  lot  of  big 
words,"  said  Mrs.  Thrale,  with  forced  calmness. 

"  'Sublocal  winds  are  characteristic  *  *  * 
swept  daily  by  winds  ranging  from  fresh  breezes 
to  gales  so  stiff  as  to  load  the  air  with  sand  ashore 


IN  THE  CLAWS  OF  THE  SEA  HAWK  277 

and  spray  asea  * '  *  *  Storm  currents,  tide 
currents,  breakers,  eddies,  whirls,  and  cross-cur- 
rents *  *  *  Strait  is  safe  only  for  portable 
and  indestructible  craft,  which  may  be  put  off  or 
carried  ashore  by  craftsmen  willing  to  wait  for 
wind  and  tide.'  There,  what  did  I  tell  you?"  cried 
the  Captain  excitedly. 

"All  the  better  for  us,  I  should  say."  Mrs. 
Thrale  looked  forward  on  the  bow.  "This  ain't 
a  big  boat.  We  can  make  it.  He  won't  dare  fol- 
low. We  can  run  down  lickety-scoot  on  that  big 
tide — it's  flowing  now — right  down  through  your 
Boca  what-do-you-call  it,  and  be  as  safe  as  ja,  clam 
at  high  water." 

"But  this  is  a  U.  S.  Government  report,"  in- 
sisted Thrale.  "McGee  has  been  here.  He  knows 
what  he's  talking  about.  Look  here :  *  The  tides  are 
among  the  strongest  and  the  tidal  currents  are 
among  the  swiftest  in  the  world;  and  as  shown 
by  the  extraordinary  marine  transgression,  the 
waters  are  among  the  most  turbulent  known.' 
We'll  never  make  it  in  God's  world!" 

"Don't  swear,  Jim!"  she  objected  fiercely.  "I 
ain't  afraid,  and  you  oughtn't  to  be.  ' Extraordi- 
nary marine  transgression?'  A  man  who  would 
write  like  that  don't  know  as  much  about  the  sea 
as  that  cat  there."  She  pointed  to  old  Port,  who 
had  followed  her  into  the  wheelhouse.  "We  can 
go  through  all  right.  We  can  make  it  inside  of  an 
hour.  And  I  tell  you  right  now  we're  going  to  do 
it.  You  got  us  into  this  thing — you've  bottled  us 


278  THE    SEA    HAWK 

up  in  this  little  bay.  There's  only  one  way  out." 
She  thrust  her  sharp-nailed  forefinger  down  at  the 
strait.  "That's  through  your  Little  Hell.  We'll 
be  around  that  point  in  twenty  minutes  and  then 
we'll  run  it  just  as  slick  as  lightning  down  a  slip- 
pery elm  tree." 

"It  can't  be  done, "  groaned  the  Captain.  " Let's 
head  over  to  the  island.  We  could  beach  her  over 
there  and  get  ashore  in  the  boats. ' ' 

"Yes,  and  land  on  a  desert,  and  be  hacked  to 
pieces  by  them  hatchetmen  that  are  ashore  back 
there.  They  wouldn't  like  anything  better.  I  say 
we're  going  to  run  that  strait."  There  was  an 
iron  sound  in  her  voice. 

"And  7  say " 

' '  Oh,  go  to  bed ! ' '  she  shrilled.  ' <  I  guess  I  know 
what  we're  gong  to  do." 

"My  God!  What  a  woman!"  groaned  the  Cap- 
tain, fleeing  down  the  main  deck,  Hazel  and  Tevis 
following  him.  He  disappeared  behind  his  cabin 
door.  Tevis  accompanied  Hazel  down  the  com- 
panionway  to  the  saloon  and  left  her  with  Sir 
Charles.  He  returned  to  the  Captain's  cabin  and 
found  him  there,  very  red  of  face,  and  with  a  de- 
fiant look  in  his  eye.  That  he  had  been  bolstering 
up  his  invertebrate  being  with  strong  drink  he 
made  no  doubt.  With  Flamel  and  the  boatswain, 
he  followed  Thrale  up  to  the  bridge,  where  Mrs. 
Thrale  was  giving  undisputed  orders  to  the  unre- 
sisting little  quartermaster  at  the  wheel. 

"Emily,"  the  long-dominated,  but  now  rebel- 


IN  THE  CLAWS  OF  THE  SEA  HAWK  279 

lions  husband  cried  sharply  to  his  wife,  "I  want 
you  to  get  out  of  that  house  and  off  the  bridge.  I 
can  run  this  ship  and  I'm  going  to  do  it." 

" Mercy!"  she  flamed  forth,  at  these  words  of 

insubordination.  "Well,' I'd  like  to What's 

this?  Are  we  slowing  down?" 

"Yes;  I  gave  the  order  just  before  I  came  up," 
said  Thrale,  with  a  mixture  of  deference  and  de- 
fiance. 

"You  did?"  she  blew  out  like  the  back-draught 
of  a  furnace.  "Well,  I'd  like " 

"Yes;  I  did,  Emily.  Come  out,  now,  and  let 
me  run  the  ship.  First  thing  you  know  we'll  be 
in  that  hell-mouth,  and  God  knows  where  we'll 
land." 

1  '  Swearing  again,  are  you  ?  Seems  to  me,  Cap- 
tain Thrale,  something's  the  matter  with  you." 
She  came  over  close  to  him  as  he  stood  half  in  and 
half  out  of  the  wheelhouse.  "Your  face  is  as  red ! 
Goodness  sakes  alive!  You've* been  drinking!  I 
smell  it  on  you.  Where  did  you  get  it? 

There  was  a  dull  roar  astern  and  a  shot  flew 
over  the  deck. 

"Hear  that!"  she  shrilled.  "He's  closing  in 
on  us  now.  He  wants  my  pearls,  but  he  ain't  ago- 
ing to  get  'em."  She  flew  to  the  speaking-tube 
and  yelled  down:  "Full  speed!  Crowd  on  all 
steam !  Put  every  coal-passer  to  work.  Get  every 
knot  out  of  her  you  can!  Captain's  orders!" 

"But  it  ain't  Captain's  orders!"  protested 
Thrale,  pale  with  fright. 


280  THE     SEA    HAWK 

' 1  Straight  ahead ! ' '  she  shouted  to  the  wheelman. 
"East,  one  point  south." 

"Head  about!"  called  the  Captain.  "Head 
about!" 

She  turned  upon  him',  while  the  little  wheelman 
stood  confused  and  another  gun  boomed  forth. 

"Mrs.  Thrale!"  cried  Flamel.  "Do  you  know 
what  you're  doing!  I've  stood  enough  of  this. 
You  can't  run  me  any  more." 

"Mrs.  Thrale!"  echoed  the  boatswain.  "You 
ain't  a-goin'  to  run  me  neither." 

"I  think,"  said  Tevis,  looking  sharply  at  her, 
"that  we'd  better  do  as  the  Captain  commands." 

The  quartermaster  spun  the  brass  spokes  of  the 
wheel  and  they  glittered  in  the  sunlight.  The 
yacht's  nose  turned  to  starboard,  in  obedience  to 
the  Captain's  order. 

"Let  go  that  wheel !"  shrieked  the  sea  hawk,  her 
face  a  black  cloud  of  wrath  and  her  beak  in  the 
air.  She  sprang  at  the  little  wheelman,  grasped 
him  by  the  shoulder,  thrust  him  out  of  the  house, 
banged  and  locked  the  door  and  yelled  through  the 
glass : 

"Run  up  your  white  rag!  Surrender,  if  you 
want  to — the  whole  pack  of  you!  I'm  not  going 
to  give  up  this  ship  to  any  garlic-eating  greaser. 
I'm  going  to  save  my  pearls!"  She  grasped  the 
wheel  in  her  bony  hands  and  sent  it  whizzing  back, 
the  nose  of  the  yacht  coming  about  quickly. 

The  Captain  threw  up  his  hands  and  then  leaned 
against  the  house,  his  body  drawn  up  into  a  sad, 


IN  THE  CLAWS  OF  THE  SEA  HAWK  281 

despairing  bunch.  The  Searcher  gathered  speed 
and  beat  rapidly  toward  the  strait.  She  was  still 
a  half-mile  ahead  of  the  pursuing  gunboat.  The 
men  who  looked  disconcertedly  in  through  the 
heavy  plate  glass  at  the  strange,  defiant  woman, 
her  eyes,  gleaming  like  electric  lights,  fixed  upon 
the  little  open  space  of  wild  water  between  the 
beetling  cliffs  ahead.  Her  cat  sat  upon  her  shoul- 
der, clinging  as  tightly  to  her  as  she  clung  to  the 
wheel.  Her  dark  head  against  the  cat's  white, 
fuzzy  body  was  singularly  strong  in  outline,  her 
insistent  nose  and  her  thin,  tightly  drawn  lips  gave 
her  the  firmness  and  fixedness  of  a  creature  carved 
in  stone.  The  little  steamer  neared  the  high, 
threatening  Punt  a  Desperacion  amid  the  thrash  of 
a  wild  tide-rip,  the  thundering  boom  of  the  surf 
and  a  wind  that  bawled  and  clamored.  She 
breasted  the  point  in  a  sweeping,  swirling  tide 
and  dashed  straight  into  the  mouth  of  the  Little 
Hell. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

THE   LITTLE    HELL 

FLYING  down  the  great  flume  of  the  Infiernillo, 
the  yacht,  stout  and  staunch  as  she  was,  was  no 
more  in  that  Homeric  tide  than  a  snarl  of  kelp  or 
a  dead  rush.  Whatever  of  independent  motion  she 
held  by  the  twirl  of  her  busy  screw  was  barely  to 
be  perceived.  Staggering  like  a  wild  inebriate, 
reeling  to  this  side  and  then  to  that,  she  was  sucked 
into  the  Boca  Infierno.  Her  bow  rose  heavenward 
and  presently  pitched  down  into  dreadful  depths, 
her  stern  out  of  water  and  her  propeller  racing 
like  a  windmill  in  the  empty  air.  Now  and  again 
the  whole  tight  bulk  of  her  would  be  tossed  back 
and  forth  like  a  tennis  ball.  From  the  rocky  fore- 
land rang  the  white  outcrash  of  the  wildest  of  wild 
seas. 

At  times  great  twisting  devil's  holes  in  the 
wicked  water  appeared  suddenly  at  her  side,  and 
when  one  of  these  giant  whirlpools  flung  against 
her  with  harsh  impact,  she  shivered  all  over  and 
the  cry  would  go  up,  "She's  struck!  She's 
struck ! ' '  But  when  she  had  swung  half -about  and 
lurched  free  from  the  whirlpool,  she  would  plunge 
on  again,  snowy  sweeps  of  spray  flying  to  the  tops 

282 


THE  LITTLE  HELL  283 

of  her  masts,  while  she  settled,  rose  and  darted 
crazily  down  the  strait. 

Captain  Thrale  clung  to  the  handle  of  the  wheel- 
house  door,  his  baggy  clothes  a-flutter,  glaring  in 
upon  the  wild  woman  at  the  wheel,  who  stood  with 
set  teeth  and  gleaming,  far-away  eye,  as  oblivious 
of  him  as  of  the  strip  of  oil  cloth  under  her  feet. 
But  Flamel,  stirred  by  the  peril,  flew  about  the 
ship,  ordering  the  hatches  battened  down,  sending 
Tevis  and  the  boatswain  on  this  errand  and  that 
and  making  all  the  men  work  like  fiends.  So  that 
although  he  was  desperately  eager  to  reach 
Hazel's  side  and  to  aid  and  comfort  her,  Tevis 
could  not  get  down  to  her.  Even  when  there  came 
respite  from  his  labor  on  deck  and  he  stood 
clutching  at  the  rail  abaft  the  funnel,  Flamel  would 
not  let  him  go. 

"Keep  your  station  there,  shipmate, "  he  cried, 
as  he  ran  forward.  "You'll  be  needed  at  any 
minute.  There'll  be  hell  to  pay  here  before  long, 
or  I'm  a  Dutchman.  This  is  what  comes  from 
petticoat  piloting.  I'll  see  'em  both  damned  before 
I  ship  with  'em  again,  and  you  can  lay  to  that. ' ' 

Between  Punta  Tormenta  and  Punta  Despera- 
cion  and  for  a  mile  or  two  further  down  the  strait 
the  land  lay  close  on  either  side  and  loomed 
sharply  under  the  afternoon  sun;  but  a  little  fur- 
ther along  in  the  turbulent  tide  gusty  flaws  of 
wind  shot  over  shore  and  sea,  sending  up  great 
puffy  clouds  of  gray  pulvis  from  the  desert  reaches 
of  the  mainland.  These  strange  powdery  mists 


284  THE    SEA    HAWK 

presently  swept  over  the  ship  and  obscured  the 
sun,  so  that  they  could  see  but  a  little  way  about 
them. 

Quickly  the  wind  rose  to  a  booming  gale,  and 
everything  aboard  was  clattering  and  swaying 
while  the  already  extravagant  motion  of  the  ship 
was  increased  to  a  sort  of  demon's  dance.  There 
was  a  terrifying  helplessness  in  her  strange 
lurches  and  rolls.  She  would  fall  headlong  down  a 
watery  slope,  tumble  with  a  side  twist  and  be 
righted  by  a  merciful  blow,  while  the  gale  scuffled 
about  and  the  dun  clouds  swept  gigantically  down. 
Looking  aft  in  the  growing  darkness  of  the  dust- 
storm,  Tevis  caught  dismal  glimpses  of  the  bat- 
tened companions,  the  foot  of  a  mast  or  the  sprawl 
of  a  parted  guy  line. 

A  door  near  by  banged  harshly,  a  snowy  skirt 
fluttered  at  his  side,  he  heard  a  gasp,  and  Hazel's 
hand  clutched  the  rail  near  his. 

"You!"  he  cried,  his  heart  knocking  desperately 
in  his  breast.  "How  in  the  world  did  you  get 
here?" 

"Through  the  upper  boiler  room  passage  and 
out  the  side  door.  I  had  to  fight  to  get  it  open." 
Her  voice  rose  high.  To  be  heard  above  the  roar 
she  had  almost  to  shout. 

"But  you  must  go  back!"  he  commanded.  "I 
can't  let  you  stay  here.  Where's  Sir  Charles? 
You  must  go  to  him." 

"He's  in  the  saloon.  He's — he's  ill.  Please  let 
me  stay!  I'll  do  everything  you  say." 


THE  LITTLE  HELL  285 

"Very  well,"  he  said  at  last;  "but  come  in  here 
close  to  the  lee  of  the  house  and  cling  hard  to  the 
companion  rail.  Don't  let  go  for  a  minute." 

A  rousing  sea  swept  over  the  stern,  and  the 
yacht  rose,  shook  herself  and  flung  sidelong  into 
the  trough.  They  did  not  speak,  for  very  terror, 
until,  as  by  a  miracle,  she  righted  herself  and 
plunged  on. 

"Do  you  think  she  can  live  through  it?"  Hazel 
shuddered  and  crept  a  little  nearer  to  him. 

A  hooting  blast  swept  down  upon  them,  as  they 
stood  there,  threatening  to  tear  them  apart,  while 
the  whole  dun  world  reeled  with  the  ship.  He 
threw  an  eager,  defending  arm  about  her,  and 
drew  her  close  to  him,  in  a  precious,  grateful  con- 
tact. 

"I  don't  know,"  he  said,  full  of  the  exhalation 
of  her  close  presence,  the  feel  of  her  warm  body 
next  to  his.  "It  looks  bad,  but  whatever  comes 
we  shall  face  it  together,  and  if  we  die,  dearest, 
we  shall  die  together.  I  don't  care  to  live  a  mo- 
ment longer  than  you." 

She  drew  back  a  little,  struggled  gently  in  his'; 
grasp,  her  bosom  heaved,  the  gale  swept  two  great 
tears  from  her  white  cheek.  Then  she  remained 
quietly  in  his  arms. 

"Yes,  I  know,"  she  said.    "I  know.    But " 

The  wind  blew  her  words  away  from  him  al- 
though her  face  was  so  near  his.  She  struggled 
out  of  his  arms,  and  stood  gazing  through  the 
murk  and  the  flying  spray.  '  *  But  we  '11  go  through 


286  THE    SEA    HAWK 

this  all  right!"  she  cried  with  a  burst  of  confi- 
dence. " She's  a  wonderful  boat.  Look!  the  sea 
isn't  so  rough  down  there  ahead.  We're  in 
smoother  water.  We'll  soon  be  out  of  it.  Merci- 
ful heavens !  What 's  that ! ' ' 

There  was  a  rending  shock,  the  ship  shivered 
like  a  man  collapsing  under  an  awful  blow,  she 
listed  frightfully,  swung  half-about  and  one  of  her 
masts  crashed  over  the  side. 

"What  was  it?"  cried  the  girl  in  an  access  of 
terror,  as  he  threw  his  arm  about  her  again  to 
save  her  a  fall  to  the  upslanting  deck. 

"We've  struck!"  he  exclaimed  hopelessly.  "It 
can't  be  anything  else.  Cling  to  me!  Why  don't 
you  cling  to  me?" 

She  obeyed,  trembling  in  every  limb.  He  seized 
a  life-buoy  that  hung  against  the  house,  tearing  ft 
down  and  fastening  it  about  her  waist. 

Thrale  staggered  aft,  waving  his  arms  and 
screaming  orders  to  the  terrified  crew.  Tevis  saw 
Yokio  and  two  other  pantry  boys,  with  the  cook 
and  quartermaster  fly  from  a  doorway.  Then 
came  McLaren,  the  engineer,  two  coal-passers, 
and,  last  of  all,  Sir  Charles  lumbered  forward, 
clutching  at  a  broken  brace  that  snarled,  along- 
deck.  His  face  was  white.  He  glared  at  Hazel 
and  Tevis  out  of  eyes  that  seemed  to  have  just 
awakened  out  of  sleep  then  hurried  into  the 
forward  house. 

Tevis  did  not  see  Flamel  nor  the  boatswain  and 
feared  they  might  have  been  washed  overboard. 


THE  LITTLE  HELL  287 

As  for  Mrs.  Thrale  he  fancied  her  as  still  hugging 
the  wheel.  He  saw  the  Captain  and  some  of  the 
men  making  for  the  boats,  tearing  at  the  davit 
lines  which  swayed  wildly  in  the  swinging  blocks. 
Tevis  did  not  move.  It  came  to  him  quickly  that 
their  best  chance  was  in  staying  by  the  ship,  hope- 
less as  was  the  outlook ;  but  Hazel  sprang  forward 
nervously,  as  if  to  break  from  his  grasp  and  run 
to  the  boats  at  the  wild  call  of  the  frenzied 
Captain. 

" Don't  move,"  commanded  Tevis,  tightening 
a  knot  in  the  buoy  line  about  her  waist.  "She 
may  right  herself." 

He  stood  waiting  while  the  sea  flooded  over  the 
port  side.  She  begged  him  to  seize  another  buoy 
that  was  near  at  hand.  He  was  about  to  do  so, 
when  the  yacht  pitched  sternward  and  a  mighty 
wall  of  water  swept  over  and  engulfed  them. 
Clinging  tightly  to  the  loose  sleeve  of  the  girPs 
stout  jacket,  Tevis  was  tossed  upward  like  a  fish- 
bob  and  heaved  forward  by  the  resistless  ava- 
lanche of  water.  Nothing  seemed  more  certain 
than  that  they  were  both  overboard  and  at  the 
mercy  of  the  mad  waters.  It  occurred  to  him  that 
in  clinging  to  the  girl,  he  was  lessening  her  chance 
of  escape  on  the  life  buoy,  and  he  was  debating 
whether  or  not  he  should  let  go,  when  of  a  sudden 
his  feet  struck  something  hard,  and  a  white  object 
rose  before  him.  It  was  a  rail  stanchion,  and  he 
threw  his  arm  about  it,  hugging  it  desperately, 
still  clinging  to  Hazel,  who  was  being  tugged  away 


288  THE    SEA    HAWK 

by  the  embracing  wave.  He  pulled  her  back  and 
close  to  him  and  rejoiced  with  mighty  exultation, 
for  the  receding  sea  had  left  them  upon  the  wheel- 
house  deck.  Yes;  there  was  the  battered  little 
bridge  in  its  railed  enclosure  and  there  was  the 
white  side  of  the  house,  and  the  plate-glass  win- 
dows, and  Mrs.  Thrale  standing  inside,  still  cling- 
ing to  the  wheel. 

After  a  long,  deep  intake  of  breath,  he  spoke  to 
Hazel : 

"Are  you  all  right,  dearest?"  he  said,  his  lips 
to  her  ear. 

She  made  no  reply,  and  lay  limp  and  inert  in  his 
arms.  The  deck  rose  free  from  the  water,  for  the 
stanch  yacht  had  righted  herself  at  last.  Whether 
or  not  she  was  leaking  badly  as  a  result  of  her 
striking,  he  could  not  tell,  but  this  much  he  knew : 
She  was  afloat  and  running  in  the  stream,  which 
seemed  strangely  quieter,  though  it  was  still  rough 
enough. 

He  worked  his  way  along  the  bridge,  dragging 
Hazel  with  one  hand,  while  he  gripped  the  rail 
tightly  with  the  other,  and  reaching  the  wheelhouse 
door,  he  turned  the  handle.  The  door  was  still 
locked.  He  rapped  desperately  upon  the  glass. 
For  a  few  minutes  Mrs.  Thrale  paid  no  heed  to 
his  knocks,  appearing  not  to  see  him.  Then  she 
glanced  down  through  the  glass.  Her  face  changed 
a  little  and  she  reached  out  one  hand  and  turned 
the  key  in  the  lock.  He  opened  the  door  and  bore 


THE  LITTLE  HELL  289 

his  burden  of  collapsed  womanhood  inside,  and,  for 
want  of  a  better  place  in  the  incommodious  room, 
laid  her  upon  the  table.  Then  he  chafed  the  white 
hands,  tore  off  the  life-buoy,  and  loosened  the 
clothing-  about  her  throat.  He  could  not  tell 
whether  she  had  been  injured,  but  judged  that  the 
breath  had  been  beaten  out  of  her  by  contact  with 
something  while  the  waves  were  tossing  them 
about. 

While  he  worked  to  restore  her,  Mrs.  Thrale 
stood  silent,  tugging  at  the  wheel. 

" Can't  you  do  something  for  her?"  he  cried 
desperately.  "I'll  take  the  wheel." 

"Take  it,"  she  said,  "my  arms  are  nearly  dead. 
Keep  her  hard-aport.  She's  making  water  fast. 
There 's  nothing  left  now  but  to  beach  her.  There 's 
a  place  over  there,"  she  nodded  toward  the  island, 
' i  that  seems  like  good  water — probably  an  eddy — 
it's  to  lee  of  them  rocks.  I'm  trying  to  run  her 
in  there." 

"All  right!"  He  grasped  the  wheel,  and  she 
turned  to  Hazel. 

1  'Poor  child,"  he  heard  her  say,  and  when  after 
a  moment  he  turned  anxiously,  he  saw  that  she 
had  loosened  the  girl's  clothing  at  the  waist. 

*  '  She 's  beginning  to  breathe  all  right  now, ' '  said 
the  woman  after  a  while ;  "but  don't  look  this  way. 
Stick  to  your  wheel." 

They  glided  into  the  eddy,  to  the  lee  of  the  rocky 
headland,  and  the  wind,  with  its  obscuring  clouds 


290  THE     SEA    HAWK 

of  dust,  left  them  of  a  sudden.  There  was  a  slow 
cessation  of  the  beat  of  the  screw. 

"Water's  up  to  the  furnace  grate,"  said  Mrs. 
Thrale  simply.  1 1  No  more  power. ' ' 

"What's  keeping  her  afloat  so  long?"  he  asked. 

"The  compartments.  Lucky  thing  she  struck 
astern.  I  expect  she  banged  sideways  on  a  rock. 
Isn't  this  a  splendid  cove — almost  like  a  lagoon. 
We  can  beach  her  here  all  right.  She's  got  head 
enough. ' ' 

"Oh,"  he  heard  Hazel  gasp  softly,  "am  I  still 
on  the  yacht?  I  thought  we  went  overboard. 
Where  is  Edwin  ? ' '  And  he  blessed  the  sweet  voice 
of  her,  his  heart  vibrating  to  its  music  and  rejoic- 
ing in  the  sound  of  his  name  from  her  lips. 

"Tevis?"  said  Mrs.  Thrale.  "He's  all  right. 
Just  lay  back  now  and  rest.  My,  but  your  things 
is  wet!  But  they  can't  be  changed  now!"  She 
turned  her  eager  eyes  ashore.  "Yes,  we've  got 
way  enough  to  run  her  close  up  to  that  little  spit, 
and  the  eddy  will  help,  for  it  sets  inshore.  Isn't 
it  nice  and  smooth  in  here?  Good  gracious!  I 
didn't  think  she'd  strike  so  soon." 

For  there  was  a  great  crunch,  a  heavy  grinding 
down  below,  the  bow  swung  about,  and  the 
Searcher,  her  head  high  and  her  after-rail  down 
to  the  level  of  the  water,  lay  aground  on  a  bank 
of  gravel  within  two  hundred  feet  of  the  spit. 

1 1  She  lays  lovely ! ' '  cried  Mrs.  Thrale.  ' 1 1  guess 
them  Greasers  won't  be  hunting  us  down  here. 
My,  what  an  awful  run!  We  made  it  though,  and 


THE  LITTLE  HELL  291 

we're  safe!    But  the  Captain!    Has  anybody  seen 
the  Captain !" 

She  ran  out  upon  the  bridge  and  whisked  down 
the  steps  and  along  the  deck  with  fluttering  skirts. 


CHAPTEE   XXIII 

THE  STBANDED  YACHT 

TEVIS  turned  to  where  Hazel  was  leaning  back  in 
the  chair,  her  clothes  still  dripping  and  in  sad  dis- 
array. She  smiled  sweetly  at  him,  the  old  shine 
and  sparkle  in  her  eyes. 

11  Where  are  we  now?"  She  stared  out  of  the 
window.  "Why,  we're  near  shore  and  in  still 
water ! ' ' 

"Yes,"  he  said,  "we're  safely  out  of  it.  "How 
do  you  feel?" 

She  shivered  a  little  in  her  wet  clothing. 

"I 'mall  right,  "she  said.  "  But  Sir  Charles  1  I 
must  go  and  look  for  him.  He  may  be  drowned.  I 
must  go  and  see." 

"  No, "  said  he ;  "  let  me  go. ' '  He  ran  out  of  the 
wheelhouse  and  followed  Mrs.  Thrale  along  the 
deck.  She  had  been  looking  elsewhere  for  the 
Captain,  but  had  not  found  him.  On  the  whole 
deck  they  saw  not  a  soul  save  Yokio,  who  appeared 
suddenly  out  of  the  upper  boiler-room  door. 

"Where's  the  Captain,"  demanded  Mrs.  Thrale, 
the  furrows  showing  deeply  in  her  brow.  "Where 
is  he?" 

"No;  I  no  see  Captain,"  replied  the  Jap.  ltl 
see  firs'  officer  and  engineah.  Tha's  all  I  see." 

292 


THE  STBANDED  YACHT  293 

Flamel  came  out  upon  deck,  followed  by  Mc- 
Laren. 

"It  caught  me  down  below,"  said  Flamel,  to 
Tevis.  "  Lucky  thing  for  me  I  was  forward.  Had 
all  I  could  do  to  keep  that  drunken  Walden  from 
going  aft  and  drowning  himself.  Wouldn't  mat- 
tered much  if  he  had." 

"Is  Sir  Charles  safe,  then?"  asked  Tevis,  with 
strangely  mixed  feelings.  "Is  he  safe?" 

"Yes;  he's  safe  enough — sobering  up  down  in 
the  messroom.  He  and  Mac  and  Yokio  were  on 
deck  when  she  struck,  but  they  got  down  below 
somehow. ' ' 

"But  where's  Captain  Thrale?"  shrieked  the 
woman.  ' l  Can 't  nobody  tell  me  where  he  is  ?  Why 
do  you  all  stand  gaping  around?  Why  don't  you 
hunt  for  him,  I'd  like  to  know?" 

They  searched  all  about  the  yacht,  above  and 
below  decks,  down  to  the  edge  of  the  water,  which 
stood  knee-deep  in  the^saloon,  but  they  did  not  find 
the  Captain.  In  the  messroom  Tevis  s&w  Walden, 
red-eyed  and  raging  over  the  unhappy  turn  of 
affairs.  He  stormed  aloud  and  then  leaned  upon 
the  table  and  groaned  and  lamented  over  what  had 
befallen  the  yacht,  bewailing  her  loss  as  though  it 
had  been  a  purely  personal  one,  which  he  doubtless 
considered  it.  He  seemed  to  have  learned  some- 
how that  Hazel  was  safe,  for  he  asked  no  questions 
about  her.  Tevis  left  him  lamenting  and  went 
upon  deck.  Mrs.  Thrale  was  sitting  forward, 
alone,  in  the  high  bow  of  the  boat,  scanning  the  sea 


294  THE     SEA    HAWK 

sadly,  her  head  in  her  hand  and  her  black  figure 
strangely  drooped  and  shrunken. 

1 1 She's  given  him  up,"  said  Flamel.  "The 
engineer's  told  her  how  it  happened.  He  saw  the 
old  man  and  the  others  washed  over  the  side  by 
the  big  wave  after  we  struck.  Well,  this  is  what 
petticoat  piloting  come  to."  Then  his  voice  soft- 
ened a  little  and.he  said :  ' i  Poor  old  girl !  I  guess 
she 's  sorry  now  she  took  things  in  her  own  hands. 
But  I  don't  know.  She's  got  her  treasure,  and 
that's  a  great  consolation  to  her." 

"Don't  say  that."  Tevis  gazed  forward  com- 
passionately at  the  desolate  figure  in  the  bow. 
"Kemember  how  many  years  they  sailed  to- 
gether." 

"And  remember  how  many  jawings  and  hen- 
peckings  she 's  given  him, ' '  sneered  Flamel.  f '  He 's 
better  off  where  he  is. 

Tevis  hastened  back  to  Hazel  and  assured  her 
of  the  safety  of  Sir  Charles.  She  received  the 
news  calmly,  saying: 

"I'm  very  glad."  But  there  was  no  great  joy 
in  her  voice.  "I  wonder  if  my  room  is  flooded," 
she  said  presently. 

"Yes,  but  I  can  wade  in  there  and  bring  out 
anything  you  want." 

"I  shall  need  a  lot  of  things.    A  warm  wrapper, 

a  pair  of  shoes,  and  stockings,  a  sweater,  a Do 

you  suppose  you  can  guess  what  else?" 

"I'll  try,"  said  he.    Hastening  below,  he  pro 
ceeded  to  ransack  her  lockers  in  search  of  such 


THE  STRANDED  YACHT  295 

feminine  garments  as  he  thought  she  would  re- 
quire. It  took  him  a  long  time  to  make  the  selec- 
tion, and  he  was  fearful  of  the  things  getting  wet, 
as  he  was  splashing  about,  knee-deep  in  water.  In 
the  white  coverlet  of  her  bed  he  bundled  up  a  red 
woolen  wrapper,  together  with  what  he  considered 
a  fairly  complete  outfit  of  pretty  garments  of 
various  shapes  and  all  wonderfully  sweet  because 
of  their  association  with  their  wearer.  Gathering 
the  four  corners  of  the  coverlet  together  he  car- 
ried the  bundle  carefully  up  to  the  wheelhouse. 

" Thank  you  ever  so  much/'  she  said  as  he  laid 
the  loose  luggage  upon  the  table. 

"The  key  is  in  the  lock,"  said  he,  as  he  closed 
the  shutters  and  went  out. 

She  was  not  long  in  dressing,  and  when  she 
opened  the  door  again  she  looked  fresh  and  sweet 
in  her  clinging  white  sweater.  She  was  arranging 
her  hair  as  he  came  to  the  door  and  asked  what 
else  he  could  do  for  her. 

"Nothing,"  she  replied;  "only  I  think  every 
well-arranged  wheelhouse  ought  to  be  supplied 
with  a  mirror  and  combs.  When  are  we  going 
ashore?" 

"Why,"  said  he,  "Mr.  Flamel  says  we're  very 
well  off  where  we  are  for  the  present.  The  tide 
is  falling  so  rapidly  that  we'll  soon  be  high  and 
dry." 

"I  don't  suppose  there's  the  remotest  chance  of 
the  yacht  ever  floating  again, ' '  she  sighed,  leaning 
back  wearily  in  her  chair. 


296  THE     SEA    HAWK 

"No,"  said  he;  "but  we'll  get  off  someway. 
Let  me  roll  up  that  bathrobe  and  make  a  pillow 
for  you." 

"Thanks,"  she  said,  after  he  had  performed 
this  service.  "That  will  do  very  nicely.  It's 
lovely  of  you  to  take  such  pains  for  me.  I 
shouldn't  have  gotten  along  at  all."  Her  head 
dropped  upon  the  improvised  pillow. 

An  idea  seized  him,  and  he  left  her  abruptly, 
ran  down  to  her  room,  gathered  up  the  blankets, 
sheets  and  pillows  from  the  bed,  and  called  Tokio 
to  help  him  with  the  top  mattress,  which  was  in 
two  sections.  He  and  the  Jap  carried  the  bedding 
up  to  the  house,  where  he  piled  the  parts  of  the 
mattress,  one  above  the  other,  upon  the  chart  table 
and  made  a  comfortable  couch,  into  which  he 
assisted  her. 

"Oh,  this  is  so  comfy,"  she  sighed,  as  she  sank 
down  upon  the  bunk.  "No,  I'm  not  ill  only — 
only  so  tired!" 

"Yokio  can  bring  you  up  some  tea  and  toast 
from  the  pantry, ' '  he  said,  as  he  went  a'way ; ' i  and 
I'll  send  Mrs.  Thrale  to  you  as  soon  as  I  can  get 
hold  of  her." 

Then  he  went  down  to  his  own  room,  which  being 
well  forward,  was  not  flooded,  though  threatened 
by  the  settling  and  shifting  of  the  ship.  He 
changed  his  clothing  and  came  on  deck  again, 
where  he  found  Flamel  and  the  engineer.  They 
discussed  the  situation.  It  was  agreed  that  they 
were  in  no  immediate  danger  from  the  sea.  They 


THE  STRANDED  YACHT  297 

had  run  aground  at  high  water.  The  tide  was 
now  falling  rapidly,  and  would  continue  to  do  so 
for  a  few  hours.  As  nearly  as  they  could  make 
out,  they  were  a  little  over  half-way  down  the 
island,  at  the  point  where  the  strait  was  widest, 
which  fact  accounted  for  the  water  being  smoother 
there  than  elsewhere  in  the  Infiernillo ;  but,  look- 
ing out  from  the  cove,  they  could  see,  beyond  the 
circling  eddy,  the  wild  water  of  the  channel,  still 
turbulent  and  forbidding,  though  the  wind  had  evi- 
dently abated  a  little. 

"There's  two  of  the  boats  left,"  said  Flamel, 
"the  launch  and  the  gig.  The  gig's  no  good — it's 
had  a  bang  from  something.  The  launch  will  be  all 
right  when  she's  bailed  out.  But  I  don't  like  risk- 
ing that  channel  again  until  it's  a  good  deal 
smoother.  When  a  pot  like  this  gets  to  boiling  it 
keeps  on  for  a  while.  It's  that  big  wind  that's 
done  it,  with  the  ugly  tide  they  have  here,  and 
there'll  be  choppy  seas  and  cross  swells  and  God 
knows  what  all,  for  a  day  or  two  yet.  We  can  wait 
here  aboard,  I  guess,  unless  something  happens. 
As  for  me,  I  don't  want  to  take  any  chances  ashore 
on  that  island.  It's  an  awful  country,  and  if  the 
Seris  didn't  get  us  the  hatchetmen  who  came 
ashore  from  the  junks  would,  for  they  will  be 
prowling  about." 

"Do- you  suppose  they'll  attack  the  yacht?"  he 
asked  apprehensively,  thinking  of  the  girl  in  the 
wheelhouse. 
j,    "Of  course  they  would  if  they  found  her;  but 


298  THE     SEA    HAWK 

she's  pretty  well  out  of  sight  behind  those  hills 
there,  and  the  island's  a  big  place.  They  might 
not  run  across  us  for  several  days." 

"How  about  the  rifles?" 

"What's  left  of  'em  is  forward  there  in  the  Cap- 
tain's cabin  and  safe  enough,  but  there  isn't  much 
ammunition,  and  mighty  few  men  to  handle  the 
guns.  You  see,  there's  only  five  of  us  left,  count- 
ing Yokio  and  the  Englishman.  This  cruise  has 
cost  a  lot  of  lives."  He  sighed.  "The  Jap's  a 
good  little  fighter  and  the  Britisher  may  be  all 
right  if  we  can  keep  him  sober." 

"You  haven't  counted  in  Mrs.  Thrale,"  said 
MacLaren,  with  Scotch  canniness.  '  '  She's  as  good 
as  a  man.  She's  gone  all  to  pieces  over  the  loss  of 
the  Captain,  but  she'll  coom  thegither  again.  And 
there's  the  lassie — she  can  pull  a  trigger.  So 
there's  seven  of  us  al thegither.  Don't  you  think 
we  ought  to  get  the  rifles  ready?" 

They  all  went  forward  to  the  Captain's  cabin. 

"Poor  old  man!"  sighed  Flamel,  as  he  entered. 
"There's  his  pipe  and  pouch,  just  as  he  left  'em. 
He  was  a  mighty  good  old  chap  after  all,  if  you  let 
him  alone.  But  that  wife  of  his  got  the  upperhand 
of  him,  like  a  bad  habit." 

' '  There 's  mighty  few  guns  left  in  the  rack, ' '  said 
Tevis.  "Only  three — a  rifle  and  two  pea-shooters, 
for  that's  about  all  those  shotguns  amount  to.  But 
there's  six  or  eight  revolvers — pretty  good  ones, 
too — and,  let's  see — seven  boxes  of  cartridges, 
three  pistol,  two  rifle,  and  two  for  the  shotguns." 


THE  STRANDED  YACHT  299 

"What's  that  safe  open  for!"  asked  the  en- 
gineer, pointing  to  the  corner  where  the  door  of  the 
strong-box  stood  ajar.  Better  lock  it  up,  hadn't 
you,  Mr.  Flamel?" 

Flamel  glanced  into  the  safe. 

"She's  taken  out  the  pearls.  She's  got  the  bag 
tied  up  in  her  clothes,  no  doubt,  and  wearing 
it  around." 

"Ah,  she's  canny!"  smiled  MacLaren. 

Flamel  closed  the  safe-door  and  locked  it.  They 
armed  themselves  with  revolvers  and  took  'the 
extra  weapons  over  to  the  shoreward  side  and 
stowed  them  in  a  tool  closet,  handy  to  the  deck. 

"Now,"  said  Flamel  to  Tevis,  "if  you'll  take 
these  glasses  and  go  up  on  the  bridge  and  keep  a 
sharp  lookout  ashore,  we'll  have  Tokio  get  out 
something  to  eat,  and  send  you  up  a  snack.  We'll 
keep  regular  anchor  watch — you  and  Mac  and  me. 
Mac,  you  order  the  chow  and  I'll  see  what  I  can  do 
for  Mrs.  Thrale.  She's  up  there  in  the  bow  as  still 
and  stiff  as  a  figurehead.  She's  mighty  sorry  for 
the  loss  of  the  old  man.  Maybe  she  wishes  she 
hadn't  been  quite  so  brash." 

Taking  the  glasses  and  the  rifle,  Tevis  mounted 
to  the  bridge.  The  door  of  the  wheelhouse  was 
closed  and  the  shutters  were  drawn.  One  of  the 
windows  was  down  a  little  way  from  the  top.  He 
was  glad  to  think  that  Hazel  was  resting  so  quietly 
in  there.  He  tiptoed  about  the  deck  that  he  might 
not  wake  her  should  she  chance  to  be  sleeping.  He 


300  THE    SEA    HAWK 

glanced  fondly  at  her  door  now  and  again,  but  for 
the  main  part  he  was  all  eyes  for  the  shore. 

It  was  a  wild  and  desolate  land,  this  of  Tiburon 
Island,  and  nothing  more  mysteriously  forbidding 
could  well  be  imagined  than  the  picture  he  saw 
from  the  yacht.  Bare,  high  buttes  rose  inland  a 
few  miles  away,  while  the  nearer  foothills,  arid, 
rock-dotted  and  brown,  rounded  away  to  a  low 
strip  alo.ngshore,  where  the  sand  lay  in  little  white 
dunes.  A  half-mile  north  the  hills  parted  in  a 
great  gulch,  that  ran  down  to  the  shore,  and  in  this 
rift  grew  mesquits,  palo  verde  scrubs  and  sahua- 
ros,  with  an  occasional  spear-shaped  agave.  If 
any  enemy  attacked  them  he  would  come  through 
this  gulch.  For  the  bowl-shaped  cove  was  guarded 
to  seaward  by  high,  impassable  scarps  both  up  and 
down  the  strait — rocky  barriers  that  hung  out  over 
the  water  and  terminated  in  islets  of  rock  over 
which  the  spray  dashed  high.  That  the  yacht  had 
driven  her  way  in  among  these  rocks  to  her  safe 
position  on  the  shingle  seemed  a  miracle.  But  there 
she  was  and,  so  far  as  could  be  predicted  for  the 
time,  there  she  would  remain. 


CHAPTER   XXIV 

THE  TAMING  OF  THE  SEA  HAWK 

THE  tide  fell  so  rapidly  that  by  five  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon — about  an  hour  and  a  half  after 
Tevis  began  his  watch — the  spit  had  stretched  its 
narrow  tongue  out  to  and  beyond  the  yacht,  and, 
looking  over  the  rail,  he  could  see  the  water  pour- 
ing out  of  the  great  jagged  hole  in  the  port  side, 
near  the  stern.  The  steel  plates  were  rent  and 
bent  where  they  had  struck  the  rock,  and  the  hole 
was  a  desperately  ugly  one. 

Even  with  the  advantage  of  having  the  yacht 
on  the  beach  it  would  be  impossible  for  them  to 
repair  the  damage  or  to  make  shift  till  they 
reached  port.  An  idea  occurred  to  Tevis,  however, 
that  before  the  turn  of  the  tide  it  might  be  possible 
to  dam  up  the  leak  so  as  greatly  to  lessen  the 
flooding  below  decks.  The  thought  must  have 
come  to  Flamel  or  MacLaren  at  about  the  same 
time,  for  a  little  later  he  saw  them  at  work  with 
canvas,  ropes  and  planks,  stanching  the  gaping 
wound  in  the  vessel's  side.  Yokio,  too,  was  bear- 
ing a  hand. 

Tevis  looked  to  see  if  Mrs.  Thrale  did  not  take 
an  interest  in  this  important  work,  but  she  sat 

301 


302  THE    SEA    HAWK 

motionless  in  the  bow,  gazing  out  to  sea,  as  though 
she*  expected  to  catch  a  vision  of  the  Captain  out 
there  where  he  had  gone  down  in  the  tidal  flood. 

But  these  were  all  merely  glances  aside  on  his 
part,  for  he  kept  his  eyes  upon  the  gulch,  strained- 
ly  peering  through  the  glass  from  time  to  time,  and 
not  a  shadow  shifted  ashore  nor  a  buzzard  flew 
that  he  did  not  see  it.  Once  or  twice  a  moving 
object  dodged  among  the  mesquits,  and  each  time 
he  sprang  up,  alert  and  anxious,  but  it  was  never 
anything  more  suspicious  than  a  coyote  or  a  jack- 
rabbit. 

As  the  sun  was  dropping  below  the  buttes  he 
heard  a  movement  inside  the  wheelhouse.  The 
door  opened,  and  Hazel's  face  appeared.  She 
seemed  fresher  after  her  rest,  and  her  dark  eyes 
gleamed  brightly. 

"Oh,"  said  she,  "I  didn't  know  I  was  to  have 
an  armed  sentinel  while  I  slept.  Is  there  so  much 
danger  as  that?  This  part  of  the  island  appears 
to  be  wholly  deserted." 

"It  is,"  said  he,  reassuringly.  "My  presence 
here  is  only  a  matter  of  form.  We  have  to  keep 
anchor  watch,  and  we're  very  short-handed." 

"Yes,  I  know,"  she  sighed.  "Yokio  told  me  all 
about  our  losses  when  he  brought  the  tea.  Poor 
Mrs.  Thrale !  Had  I  been  able,  I  should  have  gone 
to  her  and  tried  to  comfort  her.  Where  is  she  ? ' ' 

"She's  away  up  forward,"  he  said.  "You 
mustn't  try  to  see  her  now.  Wait  until  you  are 
better." 


THE  TAMING  OF  THE  SEA  HAWK    303 

"But  I  am  better.  I  feel  quite  refreshed.  I 
must  go  and  see  her."  And  she  passed  bare- 
headed along  deck,  the  last  glints  of  the  fading 
sunlight  weaving  an  aureole  in  her  hair,  and  the 
red  wrapper  fluttering  in  the  breeze.  She  made 
her  way  down  the  companion  and  up  the  slanting 
deck  to  where  the  silent  woman  sat  in  the  grief  of 
her  new  widowhood.  She  put  her  hand  gently 
upon  Mrs.  Thrale 's  shoulder  and  the  desolate 
woman  turned  slowly  and  looked  at  her  out  of 
grief-softened  eyes. 

Glancing  toward  them  again  a  little  later,  Tevis 
saw  that  they  were  talking  together  as  two  women 
in  their  isolated  position  must  talk,  no  matter 
what  of  misfortune  or  of  sadness  may  have  come 
to  one  of  them.  It  was  plain  that,  by  the  sweet 
sympathy  of  Hazel,  the  desolate  woman  had  been 
led  away  from  her  dismal  abstraction,  and  when, 
as  the  shadows  of  the  buttes  lay  over  the  cove, 
they  came  up  to  the  bridge  together  for  a  word 
with  him,  he  could  see  that  Mrs.  Thrale  was  no 
longer  the  sea  hawk,  but  a  woman  chastened  by 
sorrow  and  contrition. 

"Now,  if  you'll  go  in  there  and  sit  down,  Mrs. 
Thrale,"  said  Hazel  after  he  had  answered  some 
questions  put  by  the  bereaved  woman  as  to  their 
situation,  "I'll  fetch  you  a  cup  of  tea." 

"Thank  you,  Miss  Braisted,"  said  Mrs.  Thrale. 
"You're  awfully  kind,  and  I  don't  want  to  make 
you  any  trouble;  but  the  tea  would  taste  good. 
I'm — I'm  so "  and  she  fell  to  sobbing,  leaning 


304  THE    SEA    HAWK 

upon  Hazel's  shoulder  and  clinging  to  her  while 
she  led  her  into  the  wheelhouse. 

While  Hazel  went  below  for  the  tea,  Mrs.  Thrale 
wiped  her  eyes  with  her  handkerchief  and  looking 
out  at  Tevis  said,  with  great  earnestness: 

' '  Did  you  see  the  Captain  after  I  took  the  wheel  ? 
Was  he  very  mad  at  me?  I  know  I  jawed  him— 
I  was  always  jawing  him,  and  he  was  such  a  kind, 
patient  man.  But  he  wasn't  mad — he  wasn't  very 
mad,  was  he?" 

It  was  clear  that  a  little  deception  was  due  from 
him,  and  he  hastened  to  assure,  her  that  he  had 
seen  no  great  anger  on  the  Captain's  part — he  had 
probably  felt  that  she  was  doing  what  she  thought 
was  best  when  she  took  the  wheel. 

"He  couldn't  have  died  cursing  me,  could  he?" 
she  cried  appealingly.  "He  couldn't — could  he? 
He  was  a  good  man,  and  a  good  captain.  I  knew 
him  since  I  was  that  high.  We  went  to  school 
together  in  the  old  stone  schoolhouse  near  where  I 
was  born.  It's  true  I  was  always  jawing  him,  but 
he  understood — he  knew  it  was  only  my  way. ' ' 

Having  found  her  tongue  through  the  well- 
meant  influence  of  Hazel,  the  contrite  woman  kept 
on  in  a  flood  of  self-reproach  and  self -vindication, 
mingled  with  pitiful  praise  of  her  dead  husband. 
But  when  she  had  drank  the  tea  which  Hazel 
brought  up  to  her,  her  frayed  nerves  seemed  to 
knit  themselves  up  a  little,  and  she  was  led  more 
easily  to  the  consideration  of  affairs  aboard  ship — 
the  condition  of  the  flooded  cabins  below  deck  and 


THE  TAMING  OF  THE  SEA  HAWK    305 

other  matters  which  Hazel  brought  forward  to 
keep  her  mind  off  the  Captain.  Tevis  was  relieved 
when  he  heard  her  say: 

" Where's  Mr.  Flamel?  I  want  to  know  about 
the  things  in  my  room." 

"I'll  go  with  you,"  said  Hazel.  And  they  went 
below,  Mrs.  Thrale  leaning  upon  the  girl  for  sup- 
port, as  they  passed  down. 

While  they  were  below  Walden  came  up  on  deck, 
bearing  in  his  face  the  look  of  a  man  just  recover- 
ing from  a  debauch. 

"I  say,"  he  called  up  to  Tevis,  "what  kind  of  a 
rotten  hole  are  we  in  now?  We're  stuck  here,  I 
fancy. ' ' 

"You've  guessed  it  right  the  first  time,"  was 
the  cool  reply,  coupled  with  a  frankly  disdainful 
look  out  of  the  young  man's  eyes. 

1 '  Tevis,  you  're  a  good  sort.  Hunt  me  up  a  weed 
or  a  pipe.  I  can't  find  one  anywhere,  and  the  Jap 
won 't  come  when  I  ring. ' ' 

' t  Hunt  it  up  yourself, ' '  said  Tevis,  striding  to 
the  other  end  of  the  bridge  and  gazing  carefully 
ashore. 

Walden  went  away  grumbling.  Just  then  Tevis 
saw  something  moving  in  the  mesquits.  It  was 
the  skulking  figure  of  a  man — a  loose-clothed  figure 
that  instantly  suggested  a  Chinaman.  The  shad- 
ows were  deepening  ashore,  but  he  made  him  out 
plainly  enough  through  the  glass;  and  while  he 
stood  staring,  uncertain  whether  to  send  a  shot 
after  him  or  not,  two  other  men  appeared  behind  a 


306  THE     SEA    HAWK 

mesquit,  only  their  bare  heads  showing,  for  they 
had  removed  the  big  peak  hats  which  would  have 
made  them  conspicuous  objects.  They  stood  there, 
gazing  at  the  yacht  a  good  fifteen  minutes,  evi- 
dently taking  careful  note  of  everything  they  could 
see  aboard.  Presently  they  turned  and  trotted 
back  up  the  gulch.  Whether  these  three  Mongols 
were  an  advance  guard  of  the  men  who  had  gone 
ashore  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  island,  Tevis 
could  only  guess. 

Eeflecting  a  moment  upon  this  sudden  appear- 
ance of  the  hostile  hatchetmen,  it  seemed  plain  to 
him  that,  having  lost  their  boats,  and  being  anx- 
ious to  keep  out  of  the  way  of  the  marines,  the 
highbinders  had  all  traversed  the  island,  thinking 
to  discover  means  by  which  to  cross  the  strait  to 
the  mainland.  From  the  fact  that  those  whom  he 
had  seen  had  no  rifles,  he  argued  that  they  had  left 
them  aboard  the  junks  in  the  wild  scramble  for 
shore  when  the  men  from  the  gunboat  attacked 
them.  No  doubt  they  still  had  their  hatchets  in 
their  belts  and  probably  revolvers;  so  that,  con- 
sidering their  large  number,  they  were  very  dan- 
gerous foemen.  In  their  eagerness  to  cross  to  the 
mainland,  they  would  not  hesitate  to  attack  and 
loot  the  yacht,  particularly  as  the  lack  of  men  for 
its  defense  must  be  clear  to  them.  They  would 
doubtless  come  on  in  full  force  in  the  night  or  in 
the  early  morning  when  the  tide  would  be  low 
again,  and  the  thought  of  what  would  ensue  made 
Teyis  catch  his  breath,  while  the  hands  that 


THE  TAMING  OF  THE  SEA  HAWK    307 

clasped  his  rifle,  closed  upon  it  with  gripping 
fingers. 

Flamel  and  his  two  helpers  had  just  finished 
their  work,  and  had  come  on  deck.  He  hurried 
over  to  them  and  hastily  reported  what  he  had 
seen. 

"It  doesn't  surprise  me,"  said  Flamel. 
"They're  mighty  anxious  to  get  away  from  this 
island.  The  Seris  have  probably  been  paying  their 
respects  to  them.  Indians  hate  Chinamen,  and 
would  fight  those  chaps  in  a  minute.  Besides  the 
marines  have  no  doubt  smashed  their  small  boats 
and  sent  the  junks  down  to  Guaymas.  We've  got 
to  get  busy,  shipmates,  and  strengthen  our  posi- 
tion. We'd  better  tear  down  some  of  the  upper 
works  and  build  a  barricade  amidships.  We  can 
stand  'em  off  for  a  few  hours  anyway. ' ' 

"And  then?"  said  MacLaren  anxiously. 

"And  then  it's  all  up  with  the  gang  of  us,  I 
guess,  unless  the  sea  goes  down  and  we  can  make 
away  in  the  launch."  He  glanced  out  upon  the 
turbulent  stretch  of  the  strait,  where  the  gale  still 
blew  and  the  sea  rose  wild  and  high. 

"Nothing  doing  there,"  he  said  despairingly. 
"We've  got  to  fight  it  out  right  here,  and  do  the 
best  we  can.  Yokio,  run  and  bring  the  axes." 

The  Jap  hastened  away.  Tevis  saw  Mrs. 
Thrale  coming  up  the  companion  with  Hazel. 
Flamel  went  over  to  meet  them,  and  set  forth  the 
miserable  situation.  While  they  were  talking  he. 
took  MacLaren  up  to  the  bridge. 


308  THE     SEA    HAWK 

"Is  there  much  water  in  the  engine-room  now?" 
he  asked  eagerly. 

"A  little,"  replied  the  engineer. 

" Could  it  be  pumped  out?" 

"Yes,  if  we  had  time.    What  for?" 

"I  want  to-  get  the  dynamo  started." 
'  "But  we  don't  need  any  lights  now.     They'd 
only  attract  attention." 

"I  know,  but  this  is  for  a  different  purpose." 

"What's  that?"  asked  MacLaren  curiously. 

"Live  wires — I  want  to  run  four  or  five  all 
around  the  ship — along  the  rails  and  above  them, 
and  along  the  sides." 

"Great!"  said  the  Scotchman,  slapping  his 
thigh.  "A  guid  scheme,  I  call  it.  But  you  don't 
need  anything  more  than  the  winch  engine  for 
that.  It's  got  a  separate  boiler,  you  know.  I 
could  fire  that  little  thing  up  in  an  hour,  and  have 
your  deenamos  spinnin'." 

Flamel  appeared,  with  a  couple  of  axes. 

"I've  had  to  tell  the  ladies,"  he  said.  "Miss 
Braisted  takes  it  coolly  enough,  but  the  old  woman 
has  gone  all  to  pieces.  Wouldn't  have  told  her,  if 
I'd  thought  she  was  so  shaky.  Her  nerve  seems 
to  be  non  est.  I've  told  the  Englishman,  too,  and 
he's  braced  up  and  promised  to  help,  though  I 
don't  rely  much  on  him.  Hear  the  Jap  chopping V 
Some  of  that  expensive  woodwork  has  got  to 
suffer." 

Tevis  told  him  his  plan  of  the  live  wires. 

"Bully!"  said  he.     "Just  the  thing!    Maybe 


THE  TAMING  OF  THE  SEA  HAWK    309 

we'll  get  out  of  this  fix  yet — that  is,  if  they  don't 
cut  the  wires  with  their  hatchets." 

"I've  thought  of  that,"  said  Tevis,  "and  if 
you'll  let  me  have  some  of  that  planking  you're 
cutting  out,  a  dozen  good  tight  casks  and  some  of 
the  grating  from  the  boiler  room,  I'll  rig  up  a 
surprise  for  'em  when  they  try  to  get  aboard." 

"What's  that?"  ased  Flamel  interested. 

"A  float,  with  the  grating  on  top,  charged  with 
a  good,  stiff  voltage.  We'll  moor  it  against  the 
side  nearest  shore.  They're  bound  to  get  up  on  it, 
in  climbing  aboard,  and  if  they  wade  out  in  their 
bare  feet  or  if  their  wet  shoes  come  in  contact  with 
it,  a  good  many  of  them  will  lose  interest  in  the 
yacht  all  of  a  sudden." 

"Hooray!"  exclaimed  Flamel.  "All  hands  at 
work  on  the  float — that  is,  Sir  Charles,  Yokio  and 
I.  You  and  Mac  better  get  the  dynamo  to  run- 
ning." 

While  the  engineer  was  firing  up  the  small  en- 
gine Tevis  got  out  several  coils  of  copper  wire,  and 
some  strips  of  dunnage,  on  which  to  string  the 
"juice  lines"  along  and  above  the  rail.  He  was 
wiring  the  strips  upright  to  the  rail  stanchions, 
and  working  hurriedly  with  his  pliers  and  cutter, 
when  Hazel  came  over  and  said  pleadingly : 

"Can't  I  help?  Let  me  do  something,  won't 
you!  Mr.  Flamel  told  me  what  you  were  doing. 
It's  a  splendid  plan.  I  don't  see  how  it  can  fail 
to  keep  them  off." 


310  THE    SEA    HAWK 

"Yes,  you  can  help,"  he  said,  gladly,  "I  should 
have  some  one  to  stretch  wire  with  me." 

She  obeyed  each  order  promptly  and  with  sur- 
prising sagacity.  After  three  wires  had  been  run 
on  little  poles,  which  extended  two  feet  above  and 
below  the  rail  all  around  the  yacht,  he  uncoiled 
two  strands  of  loose  wire  to  be  thrown  over  the 
side  later,  one  of  them  to  hang  down  six  or  seven 
feet  below  the  deck,  and  the  other  a  little  above  it. 
This  would  give  five  wires,  each  to  make  a  separate 
electric  circuit,  so  that  if  any  one  of  them  were 
cut,  the  disconnection  would  not  break  the  current 
on  the  others. 

"It's  splendid,"  said  Hazel,  when  the  wires 
were  all  strung  and  the  float,  with  its  thin  layer 
of  grating  was  moored  alongside  and  was  riding 
neatly  on  the  incoming  tide.  "It's  just  grand  to 
think  we  can  call  electricity  to  our  protection  in 
this  wild  place.  But  we  couldn't  have  done  it 
without  you,  Mr.  Tevis." 

"Edwin,  you  mean,"  said  he  with  a  smile. 

"Well,  Edwin,"  said  she,  speaking  the  name 
shyly  and  very  low.  "Can  I  help  you  any  more. 
Edwin?" 

"Not  just  now.  Mrs.  Thrale  needs  you,  doesn't 
she?" 

"Yes;  she's  still  up  in  the  bow.  I  can't  keep 
her  away  from  that  horrid,  exposed  place.  She'll 
take  her  death  of  cold." 

"Yes;  and  it's  too  exposed  in  another  way,"  he 
said,  significantly.  "You'd  both  better  go  to  my 


THE  TAMING  OF  THE  SEA  HAWK    311 

room.  Tell  her  she  must  go — that  the  Captain 
would  want  her  to  do  it  if  he  were  here.  It's  on 
the  starboard  side,  away  from  shore  and  it's  the 
only  dry  one  outside  the  crew's  quarters.  I'll  ask 
Yokio  to  help  you  get  her  down  there.  I've  got 
to  go  and  look  after  the  dynamo." 

"Very  well;  but  I'm  going  to  be  of  some  use 
afterward.  See,  I  have  that  revolver  you  gave 
me,"  and  she  brought  forth  the  weapon  from  the 
pocket  of  her  blouse. 

' l  That 's  right, ' '  he  said,  smiling. 

He  ran  below,  and  when  the  dynamo  was  ac- 
tually whirring  and  the  wires  and  the  grating  were 
all  connected  up  and  tested,  he  felt  the  first  feeling 
of  relief  that  had  come  to  him  since  he  had  seen 
the  hatchetmen  in  the  gulch. 


CHAPTEE   XXV 

AN   ELECTKICAL,  SUBPEISB 

IT  WAS  about  three  in  the  morning  that  the 
attack  was  made. 

As  Tevis  had  anticipated,  the  hatchetmen  did 
not  wait  for  the  ebbing  tide  to  leave  the  stranded 
yacht  high  npon  the  spit.  They  waded  out  from 
shore,  coming  on  in  such  a  body  as  to  present  a 
terrifying  appearance  to  the  little  armed  company 
of  three  men,  a  Jap  boy  and  one  plucky  girl, 
who  could  not  be  persuaded  to  leave  the  barricade 
and  go  below,  though  Tevis  tried  to  make  her  be- 
lieve that  Mrs.  Thrale,  now  in  his  room,  was  in  dire 
need  of  her. 

They  were  only  three  men,  because  MacLaren, 
though  he  was  eager  to  join  them,  had  to  attend 
to  the  engine.  As  the  dynamo  required  but  little 
care,  Tevis  had  entrusted  him  with  it,  so  that  he 
himself  should  be  able  to  handle  one  of  the  shot- 
guns, Sir  Charles,  Yokio  and  Hazel  having  the 
others,  and  Flamel  the  rifle.  Besides  these  wea- 
pons, each  had  a  revolver,  and,  taking  a  hint 
from  the  hatchetmen 's  hand-to-hand  method  of 
attack,  they  also  kept  the  axes  ready  at  hand. 

When  the  dark  figures  stole  through  the  mes- 

312 


AN  ELECTRICAL  SURPRISE         313 

quits,  over  the  white  dunes  and  down  to  the 
water's  edge,  Flamel  waited  no  longer  but  opened 
fire  upon  them  with  the  rifle.  The  range  was  too 
wide  as  yet  for  the  fowling  pieces,  though  all  were 
loaded  with  buckshot.  FlamePs  fire,  which  was 
strangely  and  disappointingly  ineffective,  was  not 
returned.  In  the  starlight  they  saw  with  satisfac- 
tion that  there  yrere  only  two  or  three  long-bar- 
reled weapons  among  the  attacking  foe.  The 
Mongols  must  have  left  most  of  their  rifles  aboard 
the  confiscated  junks. 

One  of  the  highbinders  fell  just  as  he  stepped 
into  the  water,  but  the  others  kept  on,  with  a  super- 
ficial show  of  courage,  yelling  and  gabbling,  all 
doubtless  highly  heartened  by  the  fact  that  so  few 
shots  were  sent  their  way.  In  truth,  from  the  fir- 
ing, it  would  have  been  easy  to  argue  there  was 
only  one  man  left  aboard,  though  they  may  have 
seen  the  others  earlier  in  the  night.  Not  a  light 
shone  from  the  shoreward  side  of  the  yacht,  and 
that,  too,  added  to  the  deserted  look  of  the  craft. 
It  was  clear  that  the  Mongols  expected  an  easy 
victory.  They  had  but  to  wade  out  to  the  vessel, 
clamber  aboard,  overpower  the  inferior  guard, 
and  the  ship  was  theirs. 

So  they  came  trooping  into  the  water,  and  even 
when  the  yelling  vanguard  had  waded  out  within 
a  hundred  feet  of  the  vessel  and  the  buckshot  be- 
gan to  sing  past  their  heads,  or  splash  about  them, 
they  faltered  for  a  moment  only,  then  returned  the 
fire  with  sharp  insistence,  and  made  directly  for 


314  THE    SEA    HAWK 

the  float,  upon  which  they  climbed  confidently  until 
it  swarmed  with  the  chattering  creatures. 

Now  was  the  moment  for  the  electrical  surprise, 
and,  full  of  the  excitement  of  the  act,  Tevis 
pressed  the  button;  but,  peering  over  the  barri- 
cade, he  saw  no  change  in  the  position  of  the  group 
on  the  float,  and  no  wild  yells  of  pain  and  terror 
rang  out  from  them. 

"What's  the  matter  with  your  current?"  cried 
Flamel. 

"I  don't  know,"  he  called  back  despairingly, 
pressing  the  button  tightly  and  looking  down  to 
where  the  hatchetmen  were  climbing  up  over  their 
comrades'  backs,  and  grasping  the  rail  regardless 
of  the  wires  in  which  they  were  in  close  contact. 
But  the  copper  strands,  so  carefully  strung,  were 
dead  and  utterly  harmless  to  the  hostile  boarders. 

The  failure  of  his  electrical  system  of  defence 
dazed  Tevis.  In  a  moment  the  black  meaning  of 
it  forced  itself  upon  him,  overwhelming  his  latent 
sense  of  hope  in  the  situation.  He  looked  along 
behind  the  barricades  and  saw  Hazel  reloading  her 
revolver.  At  the  sight  of  her  he  shivered  and  cried 
low  to  his  sickening  heart : 

' t  God !  What  will  become  of  her  ? "  He  sprang 
to  her  side. 

"It  won't  work?"  she  said,  looking  at  him  out 
of  eyes  that  were  like  a  terrified  fawn's.  "That's 
too  bad!" 

"It's  worse  than  bad!"  !he  said  desperately. 
* '  It 's ' '  He  caught  himself.  He  must  not  give 


AN  ELECTRICAL  SURPRISE         315 

way  like  this.  She  must  not  see  that  a  feeling  of 
panic  had  come  to  him  because  of  his  failure. 

Quickly  and  resolutely  he  reloaded  his  gun  and, 
standing  closely  by  her  side — so  closely  that  he 
could  feel  the  brush  of  her  sleeve  against  his  and 
the  soft  arm  within  it,  he  fired  shot  after  shot 
among  the  Mongols,  some  of  whom  were  already 
up  to  the  deck  and  climbing  over  the  rail.  All  of 
the  yacht's  defenders  kept  up  their  fire,  but 
though  the  range  was  short  the  aim  was  hasty 
and  nervous  and  only  a  few  of  the  reckless 
boarders, fell  back  into  the  sea. 

When  he  saw  the  loose-bloused,  chattering 
Asiatics  swarm  aboard  and  knew  that  the  tide  of 
battle  was  against  the  handful  of  fighters  on  the 
deck,  Tevis,  in  a  clamoring  fear  for  Hazel's  safety, 
threw  his  arm  about  her  waist  ,and  crying  ' '  Come, 
come !  You  must  be  out  of  this ! ' '  half -dragged, 
half-carried  her  below  to  his  own  room,  bundled 
her  in  with  the  excited  Mrs.  Thrale  and  locked  the 
door  on  the  outside,  taking  the  key  with  him. 

"That's  good!"  said  Sir  Charles,  going  along 
the  passage  with  a  big  revolver  in  his  hand.  "I'll 
stay  down  here  and  guard  them. 

"Oh,  you're  very  dependable!"  said  Tevis,  who 
placed  little  reliance  upon  the  man  as  a  sentinel, 
and  feeling  that  he  could  do  better  service  on 
deck  if  he  had  dared  to  stay  there.  He  ran  up  to 
the  deck  and  along  to  the  barricade,  where  he  saw 
Flamel  and  Yokio  in  hand-to-hand  battles  with 


316  THE     SEA    HAWK 

the  hatchetmen,  the  first  officer  swinging  his  axe 
neatly  while  he  glanced  at  him. 

"Did  you  take  the  girl  below?"  shouted  Flamel 
to  Tevis  as  he  reappeared  at  the  barricade. 
"That'  right." 

And  Tevis  knew  that  the  man's  heart  was  glad 
she  was  out  of  immediate  danger. 

Yokio  was  shrieking  a  Japanese  battle  song,  and 
stood  with  his  back  to  the  deckhouse,  valiantly 
brandishing  his  axe  against  the  ancient  f  oemen  of 
his  race.  There  were  at  least  ten  of  the  hatchet- 
men  now  on  deck,  and  others  were  climbing  up. 
He  reloaded  his  revolver  and  sprang  to  the  top  oT 
the  barricade,  intent  upon  keeping  back  as  many 
of  the  boarders  as  possible,  but  ready  at  any  mo- 
ment to  hasten  to  the  saloon  companion  and  make 
a  final  stand  before  Hazel's  door,  with  such  aid  as 
he  could  get  from  Sir  Charles. 

But  the  instant  he  leaped  upon  the  barricade  he 
saw  a  strange  and  wonderful  sight:  The  men 
who  were  climbing  aboard  all  tottered  back,  their 
hands  and  arms  working  spasmodically,  while  the 
air  was  rent  by  wild  shrieks  of  torment  and  dis- 
may. Whenever  they  touched  the  wires  they  fell 
like  ripe  fruit  into  the  water,  splashing  and  yelling 
and  scrambling  shoreward.  The  current  was  on! 

He  rushed  to  the  button  knob  connected  with  the 
float  wires,  pressed  it  tightly  and  instantly  a 
chorus  of  tumultous  yells  resounded  from  the  float. 
Looking  down,  he  saw  the  hatchetmen  leap  from 
the  heavily  charged  grating,  while  those  who  had 


AN  ELECTEICAL  SURPRISE         317 

their  hands  upon  it  ready  to  clamber  up,  fell  back 
into  the  water.  A  few  seemed  to  be  unable  to 
separate  themselves  from  the  charged  metal,  and 
these  howled  and  shrieked  louder  than  the  rest. 

But  still  the  pirates  already  aboard  fought  on. 
Dropping  the  button  knob  and  turning  to  them, 
Tevis  devoted  himself  to  two  Mongols  who  had 
that  moment  set  upon  Flamel.  One  of  the  board- 
ers had  just  rushed  in  behind  his  back,  when  Tevis 
fired  at  him.  The  bullet  whizzed  past  the  China- 
man's breast,  and  in  the  same  instant  he  brought 
his  hatchet  down  with  a  swoop  that  sent  it  crash- 
ing through  FlamePs  skull  and  the  brave  seaman 
dropped  limply  to  the  deck.  It  was  a  sight  that 
turned  Tevis'  blood  cold;  but  he  mastered  himself 
and  sent  the  slayer  down  with  a  bullet  in  his  head, 
while  Yokio,  having  felled  his  man,  rushed  up  to 
the  top  of  the  barricade. 

This  was  a  lucky  move  for  Tevis,  for  two  pant- 
ing hatchetmen  were  hacking  at  his  head,  and  the 
Jap's  smartly  wielded  axe  stood  him  in  good 
stead.  There  was  a  clash  of  steel  on  steel  as  the 
axe  met  the  hatchets,  and  the  sickening  sallies  were 
punctuated  by  shots  from  Tevis'  revolver.  It  was 
a  hard  fight,  but  between  them  they  put  the  two 
Mongols  to  flight,  which  was  the  easier  done  be- 
cause they  were  becoming  dismayed  by  the  ago- 
nized yells  and  the  falling-back  of  their  electrified 
fellows,  many  of  whom  were  already  ashore  and 
running  up  the  gulch.  In  five  minutes  the  deck  was 
deserted  by  the  last  of  the  boarders. 


318  THE    SEA    HAWK 

Tevis  hastened  to  where  Flamel  lay  gasping  his 
last.  The  stricken  man  did  not  open  his  eyes  nor 
utter  a  word,  but  passed  away  quietly,  and,  as  it 
seemed,  with  little  pain. 

Tevis  reloaded  the  rifle  and  sent  shot  after 
avenging  shot  among  the  fleeing  hatchetmen.  The 
last  of  them  splashed  ashore  while  others  dodged 
in  among  the  mesquits. 

"They  gone !"  cried  Yokio,  "All  gone !  We  have 
disappeared  them ! ' 9 

Then  he  and  Tevis  lifted  FlamePs  body  gently 
and  bore  it  forward  where  they  laid  it  sadly  upon 
the  bunk  in  the  dead  man's  own  room.  As  they 
turned  to  go,  Tevis  saw  tears  in  Yokio 's  eyes. 

"Missa  Flamel  vay  good  mans.  I  am  so  mis- 
fortunate  he  die.  My  heart  so  sorrowful.  But  we 
have  disappeared  all  the  Chinamens.  Look,  see !" 

He  pointed  to  where  the  last  of  the  repelled 
boarders  was  fleeing  up  the  gulch. 

"They  thinking  devils  on  the  ship.  But  I  am 
understanding — it  is  electric  what  you  do,  and 
very  wonderful,  very  wonderful ;  but  I  am  under- 
standing." 

Looking  down  at  the  float  with  a  feeling  of 
triumph  in  his  heart,  Tevis  saw  no  one  on  or  about 
it.  The  moment  he  had  dropped  the  button  knob 
the  current  had  been  disconnected  from  the  grat- 
ing, and  as  the  shocks  had  been  far  from  deadly, 
all  the  Mongols  had  managed  to  get  away.  He 
could  well  imagine  the  mysterious,  prickly,  burn- 
ing sensations  and  the  violent  contortions  they  had 


AN  ELECTRICAL  SURPRISE         319 

undergone  when  the  current  was  on,  and  he  felt 
sure  that  the  hatchetmen  would  not  care  to  repeat 
the  experience  of  trying  to  board  the  bedeviled 
ship. 

"  Weel,"  said  MacLaren,  coming  up  from  below, 
his  face  agrin.  "It  wurrked  all  right  except  that 
time  when  the  deenamo  wouldn't  buzz.  But  it 
drove  them  awa' — it  drove  them  awa',  and  they'll 
nae  coom  back  again." 

The  Scotchman  was  much  distressed  when  he 
learned  of  the  death  of  Flamel  and  stood  about 
looking  very  thoughtful  for  a  while. 

In  the  graying  light  of  dawn  they  cleared  the 
deck  of  the  dead  hatchetmen  by  the  simple  process 
of  dropping  the  bodies  into  the  sea.  While  they 
were  doing  this  Sir  Charles  came  around  the  cor- 
ner of  the  afterhouse,  his  pistol  in  his  hand. 

"Are  they  all  gone!"  he  asked  anxiously. 

"Yes,"  said  Tevis,  curtly,  "and  here's  a  job  for 
you."  He  pointed  to  the  blood  that  lay  upon  the 
deck  near  the  barricade.  "You  couldn't  fight,  and 
you've  got  to  do  something;  so  just  help  Yokio 
clean  up  this  mess,  before  the  women  come  up.  In 
other  words,  right  away." 

"Just  fancy!"  said  the  baronet,  his  lip  curling. 

"Get  to  work,"  cried  Tevis  hotly,  "or  over- 
board you  go!" 

"That's  right,"  said  MacLaren,  "and  I'll  help 
you  do  it." 

"But,  I  say,  Tevis,  you're  not  mawster  here," 


320  THE    SEA    HAWK 

whined  Walden.  "You're  doing  this  just  because 
you  don't  like  me — you're  an  American  and " 

Yokio  had  brought  the  pails  and  scrubbing 
brushes.  Tevis  thrust  a  brush  into  Walden 's  un- 
willing hand,  and  said : 

"You're  altogether  wrong.  I  do  like  English- 
men. They  are  a  brave  race,  but  you  disgrace 
them.  And  no  matter  who's  master,  or  who  isn't, 
if  you  won't  fight,  you  must  work,  or  over  the  side 
you  go.  The  water  isn't  deep  and  you  can  wade 
ashore  and  get  acquainted  with  the  hatchetmen 
from  whom  you  ran  away.  Here,  take  this 
brush!" 

He  took  it,  and  the  novel  spectacle  of  an  idle 
aristocrat  performing  a  useful  and  salutary  serv- 
ice was  so  engaging  and  arresting  a  spectacle  that 
Tevis  fain  would  have  stayed  to  enjoy  it;  but  he 
had  to  go  and  tell  the  good  news  of  their  victory 
to  Hazel — a  joy  that  was  tempered  by  the  sad 
thought  of  the  untoward  taking-off  of  Flamel, 
whose  friendly  hand-grip  he  would  feel  no  more. 

"They're  actually  beaten  off?"  she  repeated 
half  incredulously  when  he  told  her.  "And  the 
electricity  worked  after  all?  Oh,  good!  good!  It 
was  your  plan  and  such  a  fine  one.  You  have 
saved  us!" 

Then  he  told  her  about  Flamel 's  death. 

"Oh,  the  poor  man!"  she  cried.  "He  was  such 
a  good  man,  too — such  a  gentleman.  I'm  so — so 
sorry. ' '  A  tear  stood  in  her  eye  as  she  spoke. 

For  Flamel 's  sake  Tevis  was  glad  of  that  tear. 


AN  ELECTRICAL  SURPRISE         321 

He  hoped  that  the  soul  of  the  man  who  had  si- 
lently, stoically  loved  her,  still  lingered  about  them 
and  could  see  this  glistening  testimony  to  her  grief 
for  him. 


CHAPTEE   XXVI 

GOOD-BYE  TO  THE  YACHT 

WHEN,  two  days  after  the  repulse  of  the  hatchet- 
men,  the  surge  of  the  sea  outside  abated  and  the 
air  was  clear  and  calm  over  the  strait,  they  made 
the  launch  ready,  stowing  aboard  enough  food, 
fresh  water,  blankets,  and'  extra  tins  of  gasoline 
to  last  them  for  the  voyage  to  Guaymas. 

Hazel,  Sir  Charles  and  Yokio  took  their  places 
in  the  stout  boat  which  had  been  roofed  over  in  a 
snug  fashion  with  tarpaulin.  MacLaren  and  Tevis 
carried  Mrs.  Thrale  aboard  and  laid  her  on  a  couch 
they  had  prepared  for  her  of  rich  soft  blankets 
and  traveling  rugs,  well  forward  under  the  awn- 
ing. The  poor  woman  had  drooped  and  faded 
steadily  from  the  hour  of  the  loss  of  her  husband. 
She  had  talked  about  him  continuously,  consuming 
the  remnant  of  her  energy  in  this  vocal  exercise. 
She  had  not  slept,  she  had  eaten  little,  but  she  had 
talked,  talked.  It  was  chiefly  about  the  pearls, 
which  were  in  the  bag  fastened  under,  her  skirt. 
She  also  had  insisted  on  taking  aboard  the  launch 
her  cat,  a  basket  of  elderberry  wine  and  other 
things  that  were  dear  to  her.  Although  she  seemed 

322 


GOOD-BYE  TO  THE  YACHT  323 

to  extract  a  modicum  of  comfort  from  Hazel's  de- 
voted attention  to  her,  she  was  so  much  the  worse 
for  nervous  wear  that  Tevis  almost  despaired  of 
getting  her  to  Guaymas  alive.  But  he  thought  that 
once  there  she  might  rally  under  medical  treat- 
ment. She  was  much  affected  by  their  departure 
from  the  yacht,  and  was  uncommonly  full  of  self- 
reproach. 

' '  There, ' '  she  said  to  Hazel,  in  a  thin,  tired  voice 
as  they  laid  her  down  aboard  the  launch  and  she 
waved  her  bony  hand  toward  the  yacht.  ' i  There's 
the  boat  I  lost  for  you.  She  was  yours — all  yours 
— and  now  look  at  her!  No  wrecker  would  ever 
think  of  trying  to  float  her  again.  They  couldn't 
get  to  her.  She'll  go  to  pieces  there  in  the  spring 
tides,  and  she'll  rot  and  rust  and  the  sand  will 
wash  over  her.  That  beautiful  yacht!" 

"Never  mind,"  said  Hazel,  "I'm  only  too  glad 
to  get  away  from  her  now.  I'm  going  home — I'm 
going  to  my  father.  Don't  worry  about  me  or  the 
yacht.  Just  lie  down  and  rest  and  we'll  be  down  to 
Guaymas  and  the  doctor's  to-morrow." 

"Doctor's!"  sighed  the  sick  woman  wearily. 
' 1 Doctors  can't  do  anything  for  me.  I '11  never  get 
there,  anyway." 

"Oh,  yes;  you  will,"  said  the  girl  cheerily 
"You'll  get  there  and  they'll  make  you  well 
again. ' ' 

They  were  rounding  the  lower  headland,  and 
rocking  in  the  swift  downward  tide.  Looking  back 
Tevis  saw  the  dismantled  yacht,  her  white  side 


324  THE     SEA    HAWK 

gleaming  in  the  morning  sun  and  broad-winged 
seabirds  circling  about  her. 

" That's  the  last  we'll  see  of  her,"  said  Mac- 
Laren,  thoughtfully.  i  i  She  was  a  bonny  boat.  Too 
bad  to  let  those  engines  bide  there  and  go  to  rack 
on  the  spit.  That's  the  last  we'll  see  of  her." 

Hazel  winced  as  he  said  the  words.  Tevis  knew 
that  she  felt  very  keenly  the  loss  of  the  beautiful 
craft. 

' '  Poor  old  Thetis  !  "  was  all  she  said.  <  '  Poor  old 
Thetist" 

They  ran  down  the  strait,  keeping  a  sharp  look- 
out for  rocks  and  bad  water.  But  though  the  spray 
rained  upon  the  awning  at  times,  they  sped  out 
into  the  open  bay  below  without  further  misad- 
venture. There  the  sea  was  smooth,  the  wind  was 
light  and,  southward  over  the  bow,  the  open  gulf 
looked  inviting. 

But  just  as  they  were,  rounding  the  lower  coast 
of  Tiburon,  they  saw,  close  inshore,  the  dull  out- 
line of  the  gunboat.  She  was  lying-to,  and  the 
smoke  was  drifting  lazily  from  her  funnels.  She 
was  a  good  two  miles  away  and  they  devoutly 
hoped  that  she  had  not  sighted  them. 

"What's  she  doing  there?"  asked  Tevis,  turn- 
ing to  MacLaren. 

' '  Oh,  just  lying  about  at  the  mouth  of  the  strait 
on  the  chance  of  the  yacht  coming  doon." 

* '  Then  she  probably  ran  down  there  looking  for 
us  immediately  after  we  got  out  of  her  clutches 


GOOD-BYE  TO  THE  YACHT  325 

up  at  the  Boca  Infierno, ' '  said  he.  ' '  Do  you  sup- 
pose she  has  seen  us?" 

* '  No ;  but  she  will  if  we  keep  on  this  course,  for 
we'll  open  out  to  her.  Best  thing  to  do  under  the 
circumstances  is  to  make  westward  a  bit. ' ' 

"Toward  that  land  over  there ?"  said  Tevis, 
pointing  to  a  .barren-looking  piece  of  gray-white 
upland  that  rose  like  a  frosted-cake  out  of  the 
gulf.  "Let's  see.  What  is  the  place  anyway!" 
He  had  brought  along  a  small  chart  of  the  Gulf, 
which  he  unrolled  across  his  knees.  ' '  San  Esteban. 
It's  a  small  island  of  the  Difficult  Group." 

'  '  Another  nasty  island  ? ' '  broke  out  Walden  im- 
patiently. "I  say,  we  don't  want  any  more 
islands. ' ' 

"You  see  how  that  head  shuts  us  off  from  the 
gunboat,"  said  MacLaren,  as  they  began  to  lose 
sight  of  the  General  Torres.  ' i  If  she  hasn  't  picked 
us  up,  we  can  run  in  over  there  at  San  Esteban 
and  lay  low  until  she  gets  tired  waiting  for  the 
yacht  that  will  never  come,  and  then  steam  away 
from  these  parts.  It  will  be  a  dour  wait  for  all  us 
now,  we're  sae  sair  to  get  into  poort,  but  we  must 
do  it.  We  mayn  't  have  to  bide  there  lang. ' ' 

So  they  ran  inshore  at  San  Esteban  and  moored 
the  launch  by  long  lines  in  a  shallow  cove.  They 
made  a  shelter  for  Mrs.  Thrale  with  the  tarpaulin 
and  a  bed  of  chaparral  covered  with  the  few  dry 
blankets  they  had.  They  also  made  another  shel- 
ter for  Hazel  close  by  and  spread  the  damp  blank- 
ets out  to  dry  upon  the  sand. 


326  THE    SEA    HAWK 

They  took  turns  watching  for  the  gunboat  from 
a  head  of  land  where  they  had  a  plain  view  of  the 
mouth  of  the  strait  and  of  the  place  where  the 
Mexican  lay.  Though  they  could  not  actually  see 
her  from  their  lookout  station,  sometimes  her 
smoke  drifted  into  view  around  the  point.  It  was 
plain  that  she  had  not  observed  them  when  they 
were  in  range  of  her.  Though  this  seemed  almost 
incredible,  it  was  probably  due  to  the  stupidity  of 
her  watch.  But  it  would  have  been  a  sheer  impos- 
sibility to  have  escaped  being  picked  up  and  run 
down  by  her  had  they  kept  on  their  course  down 
the  Gulf  toward  Guaymas.  They  were  safe  now, 
and  though  the  wait  was  an  irritating  one,  their 
only  hope  of  keeping  out  of  her  grasp  was  in 
remaining  where  they  were. 

As  they  sat  around  the  campfire  that  evening, 
eating  canned  beans  which  Yokio  had  warmed  in 
the  frying  pan,  Sir  Charles,  to  whom  the  rough 
service  was  most  discomforting,  took  his  tin  plate 
with  a  sigh. 

"  These  beans  are  very  appetizing, ' '  remarked 
MacLaren,  as  he  helped  himself  again  out  of  the 
pan. 

"Glad  you  think  so,"  said  Walden.  "But  I 
wouldn't  mind  slipping  into  a  dinner  jacket  just 
about  now,  and  sitting  down  to  a  grilled  bone  at 
the  Lions'  Club." 

"A  grilled  bone?"  cried  Hazel,  passing  her 
plate  to  Tevis  who  was  nearest  the  pan.  "Oh, 
you  sybarite!"  Though  her  words  were  the 


GOOD-BYE  TO  THE  YACHT  327 

merest  banter,  Tevis  detected  a  strong  note  of 
impatience  in  them.  '  i  Yokio, ' '  she  said  to  the  boy, 
"will  you  toast  some  crackers  for  Mrs.  Thrale? 
Maybe  she  would  eat  one  or  two.  And  I'll  make 
some  tea.  Anybody  else  have  tea? 

' '  Tea ! ' '  protested  MacLaren,  glancing  at  Sir 
Charles  meaningly,  "that's  althegither  too  com- 
mon. Nothing  but  champagne  for  me.  I  always 
have  it  on  ice  when  I'm  camping  on  a  desert 
island.  But  excuse  me;  I'll  have  to  get  back  to 
watch. ' '  He  seized  a  big  bean  sandwich  and  made 
off  for  the  lookout  station. 

"I  caugh  his  drift,"  grumbled  Walden,  looking 
contemptuously  after  the  engineer.  "But  fancy 
a  man  being  satisfied  with  this  sort  of  dinner, 
when— 

"Pardon  me,"  interrupted  Hazel,  her  eyes 
flashing  dangerously,  "but  permit  me  to  remind 
you,  Sir  Charles,  that  it's  the  best  we  have  just 
now.  And  I  don't  mind  saying,  in  the  presence  of 
Mr.  Tevis,  that  your  strictures  have  become  very 
wearisome." 

"I  like  that,"  returned  the  baronet.  "I  fancy 
you  would  make  no  complaint  about  Mr.  Tevis' 
strictures." 

' '  He  is  too  considerate  to  utter  any, ' '  said  Hazel 
quickly. 

"What  a  paragon  of  manly  virtue,  indeed," 
sneered  Sir  Charles. 

Mrs.  Thrale  moaned  from  her  couch  and  called 


328  THE    SEA    HAWK 

to  Hazel.  The  girl  rose  instantly  and  hastened  to 
her  side. 

"Well,  by  Jove,"  said  Walden.  "Everybody 
seems  to  take  pleasure  in  having  a  shy  at  me.  Just 
fancy ! ' ' 

"Permit  me  to  suggest  a  remedy,"  said  Tevis. 
1 1  Be  decent  or  half-way  decent,  till  we  get  to  Guay- 
mas.  If  you're  not,  you  can  expect  anything,  even 
to  being  marooned  on  this  island." 

Walden  shook  his  head,  but  was  quite  civil  for 
an  hour  or  so,  during  which  he  sipped  brandy- 
and-water  from  a  tin  cup  and  then  hovered  mood- 
ily over  the  campfire,  for  the  night  air  was  chill. 

Hazel  came  back  from  Mrs.  Thrale's  couch  and 
beckoned  Tevis  apart  to  say: 

"I  don't  know  what  is  the  matter  with  her.  She 
doesn't  complain  of  any  pain,  but  she's  very  low. 
She  mumbles  a  great  deal  to  herself  and  seems  to 
be  out  of  her  head.  She  won't  eat  or  drink.  I 
thought  she  might  take  some  of  her  elderberry 
wine — she  always  says  it's  so  good  for  her — and 
I  tried  to  get  her  to  drink  a  little  but  she  wouldn't 
take  a  drop.  What  can  we  do  for  her?" 

Tevis  went  with  her  to  the  sick  woman's  couch. 
The  firelight  shone  through  the  opening  at  the 
end  of  the  little  tent  and  played  mercilessly  upon 
the  drawn  cheeks  and  the  hollow  eyes.  The  hand, 
which  lay  upon  the  blanket,  twitched  and  turned 
constantly. 

"Are  you  cold,  Mrs.  Thralef"  he  asked.  "Do 
you  want  more  blankets  over  you?" 


GOOD-BYE  TO  THE  YACHT  329 

' i  I  have  hot  water  bottles  at  her  feet, ' '  said  the 
girl  nurse,  thoughtfully,  "but  maybe— 

"They  shan't  catch  me!  They  shan't  get  my 
pearls ! ' '  cried  the  woman,  starting  up  with  staring 
eyes.  Let  me  get  hold  of  that  wheel!  I'll  show 
them  thieving  greasers!  I'll  show  'em  a  clean 

pair  of  heels.  And  the  Chinamen — they Oh, 

Jim !  I  didn't  mean  it — I  didn't  mean  to  kill  you ! 
I  was  only — trying — to  save — my  pearls!" 

"See,"  said  Hazel.  "Isn't  it  terrible?  What 
can  we  do  for  her?  I  have  some  quinine — shall  I 
give  it  to  her?" 

"It  won't  do  any  harm,"  said  he,  as  he  laid  his 
hand  on  the  sick  woman's  forehead.  "She's  a  bit 
feverish. ' ' 

'  *  Is  that  you,  Jim  ? ' '  she  cried,  her  eyes  staring 
again  as  he  touched  her  brow.  "No,"  she  said 
sadly.  "It's  only  Tevis;  but  he'll  take  good  care 
of  me.  I  know  he  will. ' ' 

"Oh,  she  isn't  so  bad,"  he  whispered  hopefully 
to  Hazel.  "She  knows  us."  He  tried  to  quiet  her 
by  smoothing  her  forehead  and  wrists  with  his  cool 
hand.  She  settled  down  after  a  while  and  he  was 
much  relieved  to  see  her  close  her  eyes  and  begin 
to  breathe  regularly.  Hazel  remained  with  her, 
while  he  went  to  help  Yokio  gather  driftwood  for 
the  fire,  which  was  burning  low.  Sir  Charles' 
hands  were  outspread  above  the  coals. 

"Why  don't  you  go  and  help  them  gather 
wood?"  Tevis  heard  Hazel  call  to  Walden  after 


330  THE     SEA    HAWK 

he  and:  the  Jap  had  started.  "The  work  would 
warm  you." 

"But  I  say,"  he  said  shivering,  "I  don't  know 
where  to  look  for  the  nasty  wood." 

She  said  no  more,  but  Tevis  could  well  imagine 
her  thoughts.  When  he  and  Yokio  returned,  drag- 
ging the  drift  stuff  along  the  beach,  Walden  had 
left  the  fire  and  gone  to  his  couch. 

"Now,"  said  Tevis  to  Hazel,  "you  go  and  get  a 
good  night's  rest,  and  I'll  look  after  her." 

She  protested  that  she  was  not  tired  and  tried 
to  induce  him  to  sleep  while  she  kept  watch  by  Mrs. 
Thrale ;  but  at  last  he  persuaded  her  to  retire.  She 
went  away,  but  returned  soon  afterward  with  a 
small  red  blanket  wrapped  about  her  and  went 
over  to  the  fire  before  which  she  shivered  and 
rubbed  her  hands. 

"What's  the  matter?"  he  asked,  going  over  to 
her. 

"Nothing,  only  I  can't  find  the  blankets;  that  is, 
only  this  little  thin  one." 

"Why,  they 're  here,  somewhere,"  he  said,  look- 
ing about,  "plenty  of  them."  He  went  over  to 
where  Yokio  lay  on  the  sand  under  an  old  over- 
coat. "He  hasn't  taken  any,"  he  said,  "and  he 
must  be  cold,  too." 

He  found  none  of  the  missing  covers  until  he 
went  over  to  the  place  where  Walden  was  sleep- 
ing soundly  under  a  heaped-up  mound  of  bed-cloth- 
ing. Angered  by  the  sight,  he  stripped  two  blank- 
ets from  the  baronet,  still  leaving  a  good-sized 


GOOD-BYE  TO  THE  YACHT  331 

pile,  and  carried  them  over  to  her  couch.  Then  he 
tore  another  off  the  comfortable  sleeper  and  folded 
it  over  Yokio.  The  girl's  eyes  had  followed  him 
and  she  knew  as  well  as  he  that  the  luxurious 
gentleman  had  gathered  up  all  the  bed-clothing  he 
could  find  for  his  own  couch,  without  thought  of 
the  comfort  of  the  others. 

'  i  Good-night ! ' '  said  Hazel  to  Tevis,  holding  out 
her  hand.  "And  be  sure  to  call  me  at  midnight, 
so  I  may  share  the  watch  with  you." 

Her  tone  was  so  soft  and  there  was  so  little  of 
the  conventional  in  her  appearance  before  the  fire 
— she  looked  like  a  gypsy  maid  in  the  red  blanket 
— that  he  felt  the  vantage  ground  of  their  remote- 
ness there  on  that  lonely  isle  under  the  stars,  and 
he  retained  the  hand  she  held  out,  while  she  smiled 
up  at  him  in  the  fireshine,  and  did  not  snatch  it 
from  him  until  Mrs.  Thrale  piped  feebly  from  her 
tent. 

"  Good-night ! "  he  said  and  turned  away  at  the 
call  of  his  helpless  charge.  But  Mrs.  Thrale  's  cry 
was  merely  one  of  delirium.  She  settled  down  to 
sleep  presently,  and  he  went  and  sat  by  the  fire 
which  was  near  at  hand  and  not  so  far  from 
Hazel's  bower  but  that  he  could  hear  her  turn  on 
her  crackly  chaparral  couch. 

Sometimes  his  patient  would  moan  pitifully  in 
her  sleep  and  when  he  went  to  her  she  would  begin 
the  tragedy  over  again.  Then  she  would  go  away 
back  to  her  village  life,  and  she  and  the  Captain 
would  be  school  chums  together,  the  two  of  them 


332  THE     SEA    HAWK 

riding  on  the  old  gray  horse,  or  picking  apples  or 
wading  in  the  creek.  Or  they  would  be  going  to 
a  dance  or  leaning  over  the  gate  and  talking  low  in 
the  twilight.  It  was  all  very  heart-touching,  like 
looking  into  the  musty  old  love-letters  of  a  long- 
dead  village  spinster. 

He  was  not  obedient  to  his  promise  to  call  Hazel 
at  midnight  to  alternate  with  him  in  the  care  of 
Mrs.  Thrale.  Indeed  it  was  after  one  o'clock 
when  he  moved  gently  through  the  mesquits  over 
to  the  girl's  couch  to  awaken  her.  He  found  her 
lying  peacefully,  with  one  arm  under  her  head,  her 
white  face  charmingly  soft  and  sweet  in  the  fire- 
light, in  striking  relief  against  a  Bagdad  pillow. 
A  heavy  braid  of  dark  hair  lay  upon  her  softly 
heaving  breast,  and  fluffy  wisps  of  it  drooped  over 
her  forehead.  Never  had  he  seen  so  winsome*  a 
picture  of  young  womanhood  as  that  -of  this  girl 
whom  he  loved,  lying  there  alone  in  her  innocence 
and  in  the  beauty  God  had  given  her. 

And  there  beyond  the  range  of  the  firelight  he 
could  see,  faintly  looming  among  the  mesquits,  the 
blackly  shadowed  form  of  another  sleeper — the 
man  to  whom  she  had  promised  herself.  That 
dark  form,  though  heavy  in  sleep,  interposed  itself 
coldly  and  harshly  between  him  and  this  sweet  girl 
lying  at  his  feet.  And  yet  he  was  so  wrapt  about 
in  the  precious,  implacable  coil  of  love  that  he 
tingled  in  every  fibre  as  he  shyly  peered  into  the 
nun-like  seclusion  in  which  her  girlish  slumber 
begirt  her.  At  no  moment  of  all  that  season  of 


GOOD-BYE  TO  THE  YACHT  333 

desperate  love  had  he  felt  so  shut  away  from  her 
as  now.  This  feeling  came  to  him  out  of  the  lonely, 
pervasive  moan  of  the  surf  as  it  beat  upon  the 
rocks  outside  the  little  cove.  The  sea  had  given 
to  him  the  little  of  her  that  he  had  enjoyed,  and 
the  sea  would  take  it  away.  At  the  furthest  they 
would  not  be  remaining  upon  the  island  but  a  few 
days  more,  and  soon  after  that  she  would  be  gone 
out  of  his  life. 

He  looked  up  at  the  cold,  pitiless  stars  whose 
scintillant  rays  laughed  at  his  love,  and  as  the 
chilly  night  breeze  blew  about  him  he  shivered.  But 
— he  wondered  at  himself  as  ha  did  it,  though  he 
did  not  blame  himself  for  the  transgression — he 
drew  nearer  and  nearer  to  her  and  at  last  bent 
down  over  her  with  the  thought  that  he  would 
waken  her  by  a  touch  of  the  .shoulder;  for  to 
speak  to  her  might  be  to  arouse  the  sick  woman. 

As  he  kneeled  to  touch  her  a  gently  suffused 
glow  came  up  from  the  sea,  softly  illuminating 
and  divinely  hallowing  the  face  of  the  girl  over 
whom  he  bent.  No,  he  could  not  awaken  her  just 
then — he  could  not  break  in  upon  that  sacred  sleep. 
The  glow  upon  the  sea  strengthened  as  he  knelt 
there.  On  wave-tips  to  the  skies  ran  a  trail  of 
liquid  light  higher  yet  paler  than  his  pulsing 
heart's  desire  when  the  large  moon  lit  the  fall  and 
rise  of  her  full  bosom.  He  would  not  own  to  him- 
self the  lupine  nature  of  his  act  in  invading  the 
sanctity  of  her  sleep.  It  could  not  be  himself — not 
Edwin  Tevis — who,  with  clamoring  pulses,  bent 


334  THE    SEA    HAWK 

lower  and  lower  over  her  soft  round  face  until 
his  lips  touched  hers.  But  in  the  instant  of  that 
ravishing  contact  his  ego  awoke.  It  was  himself — 
no  other — who  was  kissing  those  full,  soft  lips  and 
was  breathing  the  warm  breath  of  this  woman 
whom  he  loved. 

The  girl  turned  gently,  with  a  sleepy  sigh,  and 
then  resumed  her  regular  breath.  He  started  back. 
Quickly,  silently  he  rose,  and  softly  as  a  shadow  he 
moved  away,  every  pulse  athrob,  every  vein  full  of 
the  fire  of  love.  No  matter  what  might  happen 
after  that,  he  had,  in  a  sense,  possessed  her.  For 
that  moment  she  had  been  his.  Though  he  lived 
a  hundred  years — though  he  died  on  the  morrow — 
his  soul  could  never  forget  it. 

He  did  not  reprove  himself  for  his  trespass.  He 
felt  that  he  should  be  ashamed  to  have  so  taken 
advantage  of  her  helpless  unconsciousness,  but 
somehow  he  was  not.  As  a  verity,  with  the  soft 
feel  of  her  lips  still  upon  his,  he  was  glad  of  what 
he  had  done.  The  moonlit  sea  was  the  brighter, 
the  night  the  more  beautiful  and  the  whole  horizon 
the  wider. 

Mrs.  Thrale  did  not  awake.  He  heard  her  cat 
mewing  about  her  couch,  but  the  noise  •  did  not 
disturb  her.  The  lonely  animal  went  over  to  Hazel 
and  mewed  and  purred  about  her  and  must  have 
aroused  her,  for  presently  he  heard  her  footfall 
among  the  dry  weeds  and  saw  her  coming  over  to 
the  fire  with  the  cat  in  her  arms — a  splash  of  white 
against  the  dark  blanket  that  draped  her  about. 


GOOD-BYE  TO  THE  YACHT  335 

*  '  Why  didn  't  you  wake  me  at  twelve  ? ' '  she  whis- 
pered to  him  impatiently.  "It's  almost  morning 
and  you've  been  up  in  the  cold  all  this  time." 

He  threw  more  branches  on  the  fire,  and  it 
blazed  up  brightly. 

"I  have  been  comfortable, "  said  he,  "and  not 
unhappy." 

"Has  she  slept  any?  I  heard  her  going  on. 
Poor  thing!  She's  quiet  now.  Perhaps  all  she 
needs  is  rest." 

She  went  over  to  the  sick  woman 's  couch,  while 
Tevis,  sprawling  down  by  the  campfire  and  pulling 
a  piece  of  canvas  over  him,  stretched  himself  out 
upon  his  back,  his  eyes  to  the  stars.  But  he  did 
not  sleep. 

She  came  back  to  the  fireside  and  as  he  sat  up 
expectantly,  she  said: 

"Why  don't  you  lie  still  and  rest?  She's  sleep- 
ing very  quietly  now.  If  only  she  could  sleep  all 
day  and  keep  from  talking,  I  'm  sure  she  'd  be  bet- 
ter. But  I  think  she  is  improving  anyway.  She 
may  be  up  and  about  in  the  morning." 

"I  hope  so,"  said  he,  looking  at  her  with  that 
rapturous  feel  of  her  lips  still  upon  him.  How 
beautiful  she  looked  there  in  the  moonlight! 

"Why  don't  you  lie  down  and  rest?"  she  re- 
peated in  a  tone  of  concern.  ' '  You  must  be  tired. ' ' 

"Because" — he  took  a  dry  stick  and  threw  it  on 
tjie  fire  and  it  flared  up  suddenly — "because  you'll 
be  lonely  without  company,  even  such  as  I  am." 


336  THE     SEA    HAWK 

"Oh,  you  are  the  best  of  company,"  she  said 
frankly;  "but  I  want  you  to  go  to  sleep. " 

"How  can  I  sleep  when  you  are  so  near  me  now 
and  will  soon  be  so  far  away!"  He  gazed  at  her 
fondly  in  the  firelight.  Her  eyelids  drooped  a 
little  as  she  said: 

"Yes.  We  have  been  such — such  good  friends 
and  shipmates." 

"And  nothing  more?"  There  was  a  burning 
eagerness  in  his  eyes  as  he  looked  at  her — an 
eagerness  kindled  by  the  kiss. 

She  saw  the  look  and  she  trembled  a  little  be- 
cause of  its  intensity. 

"Go  to  sleep  now!"  she  commanded. 

"Of  course,"  he  replied  stiffly,  "I  am  still  to 
be  held  aloof.  Good-night  I ' ' 

His  head  lay  back  and  the  dry  chaparral 
crackled  under  him.  Through  the  fringe  of  his 
eyelashes  he  looked  fondly  at  her  where  she  sat 
by  the  fire,  clasping  her  knees  and  gazing  fixedly 
into-  the  flame.  Her  command  that  he  go  to  sleep 
had  been  a  virtual  forbidding  of  his  pursuit  of  the 
subject  of  love.  Did  her  sense  of  loyalty  to  her 
betrothal  pledge  and  to  the  promise  she  had  made 
to  her  father  stand  above  everything?  He  knew 
she  was  intensely  leal.  Her  unswerving  fidelity 
to  the  truth  in  all  things  had  been  proven  to  him 
in  many  ways — and  although  he  admitted  it  in 
nearly  everything,  in  this  one  essential  thing  that 
stood  so  stubbornly  in  the  way  of  his  happiness,  he 
selfishly  felt  that  she  was  wrong.  And  yet  there 


GOOD-BYE  TO  THE  YACHT  337 

had  been  times  when  he  had  thought  that  she  loved 
him.  But  when  one  considered  the  wholesale 
international  bargain  and  sale  of  beauty,  love,  he 
reflected  bitterly,  was  a  minor  matter,  easily  neg- 
ligible, out  of  date.  Love !  Why  if  it  had  counted 
for  anything,  would  she  not  already  have  given 
him  some  little  encouragement  after  the  appeals 
he  had  made  to  her? 

Over  and  over  again  these  desperate  thoughts 
surged  through  his  hot  brain  and  always  there 
would  come  as  the  climax  to  them  the  bitter  re- 
minder that  soon  they  would  leave  the  island  and 
go  forth  upon  divergent  paths — she  to  one  end  of 
the  world,  he  to  the  other.  It  was  unbearable. 

When  she  arose  and  went  to  Mrs.  Thrale's 
couch,  he  turned  upon  his  blanket  and  lay  face 
downward,  with  his  head  between  his  hands,  press- 
ing hard  upon  his  temples,  as  if  to  force  out  all 
thoughts  of  the  love  that  tormented  him. 


CHAPTER   XXVII 

MKS.  THEALE  GOES  OUT  TO  SEA 

IN  THE  morning  Mrs.  Thrale  seemed  a  little 
brighter  after  her  night's  rest,  but  in  the  after- 
noon, while  Walden  was  on  the  lookout  with  Yokio 
— for  Tevis  would  not  trust  Sir  Charles  there 
alone — and  while  MacLaren  slept  and  the  sun 
shone  so  fiercely  down  upon  the  tarpaulin  that  it 
had  to  be  shifted  to  shade  the  sick  woman,  she 
began  to  talk  grimly  of  death. 

She  was  lying  with  her  head  propped  up  that 
she  might  look  out  over  the  sea.  Her  delirium 
had  gone,  so  that,  although  Tevis  tried  to  thrust 
the  nearing  tragedy  away  from  Hazel,  he  knew 
and  she  must  have  known,  that  the  Captain's 
widow  would  soon  join  her  husband.  She  was  let- 
ting go  her  hold  upon  life  from  moment  to  mo- 
ment; but  though  her  soul  seemed  willing  to  de- 
part, her  lips  held  to  their  old  habits  of  protesting. 

i 'It's  too  bad!"  she  said,  wearily,  looking  about 
the  gray  waste  of  the  arid  island.  "I  always 
wanted  to  be  buried  in  the  old  South  Hill  Ceme- 
tery, near  the  Penobscot.  There  was  a  hickory 
tree  there  in  the  corner  that  I  often  looked  at — 
a  beautiful  tree,  always  full  of  nuts  in  the  fall; 

338 


MRS.  THRALE  GOES  OUT  TO  SEA    339 

and  there  was  blackberry  vines  and  lots  of  green 
grass — oh,  so  green!  This  is  dry — it  makes  your 
eyes  tired.  I  always  wanted  to  be  buried  where  the 
hickory  nuts  would  fall  upon  my  grave.'7  It  was 
the  dominant  passion,  swaying  her  whole  being  to 
the  very  moment  of  death — she  would  be  garner- 
ing something  even  in  her  grave.  "And  I  wanted 
the  Captain  by  my  side.  But  he's  buried  out  there 
in  the  sea — I  suppose  the  tide  brought  him  down 
this  way — and,  as  long  as  we  can't  go  back  to 
South  Hill,  you'll  put  me  in  the  sea  with  him, 
won't  you?  Maybe  we'll  drift  together  around  to 
the  old  Maine  coast.  Anyway  we'll  be  in  the  same 
sea." 

She  smiled  a  thin,  wintry  smile.  Then  she  went 
on,  raising  her  eyes  to  Hazel. 

"And  you,  my  dear  girl — you've  took  such  good 
care  of  me;  and  I  wrecked  your  yacht.  I  didn't 
mean  to  do  it — you  know  that — I  thought  I  could 
run  her  through  all  right,  but  I  didn't.  I  lost  her. 
Feel  in  my  skirt,  dear,  and  you'll  find  the  bag. 
Bring  it  out,  quick;  I  don't  believe  I  can  stay 
long." 

Hazel  brought  out  the  bag  of  pearls  and  laid 
it  by  her  side.  The  thin  fingers  closed  over  it,  as 
she  went  on: 

"I  lost  your  yacht,  my  girl.  These  pearls 
belong  to  you.  Don't  say  'no' — they're  yours,  all 
except  what's  Mr.  Tevis's  and  MacLaren's  and 
what's  coming  to  FlamePs  widow.  They'll  know 
their  shares.  If  anyone  of  the  crew's  folks  makes 


340  THE    SEA    HAWK 

a  claim,  Mr.  Tevis  can  settle  it  for  you.  Take  it, 
Hazel.  Let  me  see  you  take  it.  I  never  had  a 
daughter  of  my  own,  nor  a  son  either.  I  ain't  got 
any  folks  living.  The  pearls  must  go  to,you." 

Weeping  gently,  the  girl  took  the  bag  in  her 
hand. 

"Under  my  pillow  is  a  little  Bible.  I  want  you 
to  take  that,  Mr.  Tevis ;  keep  it  to  remember  me  By, 
and  when  you  put  me  in  the  sea  read  over  me  the 
fourteenth  chapter  of  Job.  That  will  do  for  the 
Captain,  too — he  didn  't  have  any  funeral.  Here  is 
my  cat.  Poor  old  Port.  He '11  miss  me.  I'll  leave 
him  to  you,  Hazel.  And  the  elderberry  wine — 
there's  a  half-dozen  bottles  of  it — it's  very  warm- 
ing. I  give  that  to  you,  Edwin  Tevis.  Now  go 
away,  both  of  you,  and  let  me  die  here,  looking  out 
on  the  sea  alone.  He  loved  the  sea  and  I  love  it, 
and  I'm  going  down  into  it  and  find  him." 

Tevis  took  Hazel  by  the  arm  and  led  her  away. 
They  stood  a  little  apart  from  the  death-couch  and 
watched  the  going  forth  of  this  singular  woman  to 
the  man  whom  she  had  loved  after  her  own  strange 
fashion,  but  in  a  way  to  prove  that  "  hearts  are 
hearts  the  weary  world  all  over. ' '  For  an  hour  or 
more  she  lay  there,  her  cat  upon  her  breast,  look- 
ing silently  out  upon  the  sea.  Then  her  tired  head 
fell  back  and  they  knew  that  she  was  no  more  of 
earth. 

When  Walden  came  down  from  the  lookout  sta- 
tion, leaving  Yokio  on  watch,  he  showed  much  con- 
cern over  the  death  of  Mrs.  Thrale,  and  insisted  on 


MES.  THRALE  GOES  OUT  TO  SEA    341 

knowing  what  had  become  of  the  treasure  she  had 
left  behind.  Hazel  told  him.  He  wanted  to  see  the 
gems.  Tevis  was  not  far  away  when  she  showed 
them  to  him,  and  he  overheard  him  say: 

"By  Jove!  I  had  no  idea  there  were  so  many 
of  them,  or  such  big  ones !  A  string  of  these  will 
look  very  fetching  on  the  neck  of  Lady  Walden. ' ' 

Hazel  bit  her  lip,  and  stood  with  downcast  eyes, 
while  she  said  something  the  listening  man  did  not 
hear. 

Tevis  turned  away. 

Lady  Walden !  Lady  Walden !  The  name  rang 
in  his  ears  and  kept  ringing  all  the  morning.  Why 
had  he  not  the  power  to  snatch  her  away  from  the 
other  man  before  his  eyes,  and  claim  her  as  his 
own?  But  there  were  reasons  why  she  would  not 
be  unwilling  to  hold  herself  to  her  vow.  Yes,  a 
girl  of  her  station  and  training  would  hardly  give 
up  becoming  Lady  Walden.  She  was,  he  thought 
bitterly,  only  too  ready  to  shine  in  her  set  as  a 
woman  of  title.  Now  that  Sir  Charles  was  begin- 
ning to  devote  himself  to  her  again,  just  as  he 
doubtless  devoted  himself  in  the  early  stages  of 
their  courtship  and  engagement,  she  would  forget 
the  boorishness  of  the  man,  brought  out  under 
rough  circumstances  such  as  might  never  sur- 
round them  again  during  their  married  life. 

Lady  Walden! 

They  consigned  Mrs.  Thrale's  body  to  the  sea 
from  the  end  of  a  rock  that  jutted  out  into  deep 
water.  Tevis  read  the  chapter  from  Job,  and 


342  THE     SEA    HAWK 

Hazel,  with  faltering  voice,  said  a  little  prayer. 
They  watched  the  thin,  sheeted  form  slip  into  the 
sea,  sinking  slowly  as  it  was  drawn  out  by  the 
swift  tide. 

Then  they  heard  a  cry — Yokio  yelling  from  the 
lookout  station: 

"Gunboat  coming  out  now — coming  zis  way, 
much  rapidly ! ' ' 

They  strained  their  eyes  seaward.  There  was 
the  cruiser  at  last !  She  steamed  directly  toward 
them  until  she  was  well  out  in  the  wide  channel 
between  the  two  islands,  then  she  headed  north, 
and  in  half  an  hour  they  saw  of  her  only  a  low 
stratum  of  smoke-drift  which  spun  out  to  nothing- 
ness a  little  later. 

1  i  Now  for  the  boat ! ' '  cried  MacLaren. 

They  gathered  the  luggage  together,  Tevis  bund- 
ling it  up  and  the  engineer  and  Yokio  wading  out 
to  the  launch  with  it. 

' '  Where  is  the  oat  ? ' '  said  Hazel,  looking  about. 
"Where's  Port f  I '11  have  to  take  him.  Here,  kit, 
kit,  kit!" 

"It's  strange  about  Port,"  said  Tevis.  "I 
haven't  seen  him  since  his  mistress  died." 

"I  saw  him  taking  to  the  copse  away  over 
there,"  said  Walden,  "soon  after  the  old  woman 
passed  away.  Good  job,  too.  We  don't  want  to 
be  lumbered  up  with  cats." 

An  irritated  look  came  into  the  girl's  eyes.  She 
kept  calling  and  calling  to  the  cat,  but  he  did  not 
come. 


MBS.  THRALE  GOES  OUT  TO  SEA    343 

"No  doubt  he  wants  to  stay  on  this  island  where 
she  died/'  said  she  sadly.  "But  it's  too  bad  to 
leave  him  here  all  alone  in  this  f  jsert  place/' 

"Well,  we're  not  going  to  wan  on  any  old  cat," 
declared  Sir  Charles  buckling  a  Gladstone  bag. 
"What's  in  that  basket?"  he  asked,  looking  down 
interestedly  at  some  carefully  wrapped  bottles. 
' '  Oh,  that  beastly  elderberry  wine !  I  tasted  it  last 
night — enough  to  make  one  ill,  don't  you  know?" 

"It  would  be  better  for  some  persons,"  observed 
the  blunt  MacLaren,  coming  along  and  gathering 
up  up  the  basket,  "if  nothing  stronger  was  ever 
made  in  a '  the  wurruld. ' ' 

It  was  a  wonderfully  calm  morning,  and  the  blue 
gulf  stretched  alluringly  away  from  the  gray  bar- 
ren island,  affording  a  broad,  clear  path  back  to 
the  civilization  so  dear  to  the  modern  heart.  And 
yet  Tevis  was  loath  to  go.  It  would  be  the  end  of 
his  voyaging  with  Hazel,  to  whom,  in  her  far  Eng- 
lish home,  he  would  soon  become  a  mere  memory: 
She  could  not  forget  him  altogether — she  would 
probably  think  of  him  at  least  once  a  month  for 
the  first  few  years.  After  that  he  would  recur  to 
her  vaguely  when  she  would  look  at  her  pearl  neck- 
lace or  hear  some  one  speak  of  Mexico.  She  would 
be  among  persons  of  rank  and  wealth,  and  it  came 
to  him  bitterly  that  his  share  in  the  treasure,  while 
it  amounted  to  a  goodly  sum,  would  not  make  hiiri 
a  rich  man. 

Yes,  they  were  going  back,  to  civilization — he  to 
California  and  she  to  the  other  side  of  the  world, 


344  THE     SEA    HAWK 

and  in  all  the  long  miles  between  them  there  would 
be  no  link  to  bind  her  to  him. 

He  saw  Walden  preparing  to  go  aboard  as  the 
luggage  was  being  taken  over  by  MacLaren  and  the 
boy,  and  he  looked  about  drearily.  Sir  Charles, 
Hazel  and  Tevis  stood  on  the  beach,  Sir  Charles 
close  to  her  side,  talking  to  her  in  his  possessory 
way. 

Tevis  gazed  at  her  covertly,  with  hungry  eyes. 
Never  had  she  seemed  so  far  from  him.. 
i  Lady  Walden! 

She  looked  about  the  island  for  the  last  time, 
with  grave,  sweet  eyes,  and  he  fancied  there  was 
a  sorrowful  shade  on  her  face  when  she  gazed  at 
the  abandoned  camp,  where  the  smoke  curled  from 
their  dying  fire. 

"Poor  Mrs.  Thrale!"  she  sighed,  as  she  glanced 
at  the  bag  of  pearls  in  her  hand.  ' t  She  gave  her 
life  for  these." 

"Well,  they're  ours  now,"  said  Sir  Charles  sig- 
nificantly— ' l  that  is,  most  of  them,  and  I  fancy  we 
can  make  better  use  of  them  than  ever  she  could. ' ' 

She  still  looked  thoughtfully  at  the  forsaken 
camp  among  the  gray-green  mesquits  while  Tevis 
continued  his  covert  eye-feast  of  her  rare  beauty 
and  thought  of  the  love  which  he  must  lose  forever. 

Lady  Walden! 

"She  wouldn't  have  known  what  to  do  with  a 
fortune  like  this, ' '  added  Sir  Charles.  ' '  Her  ideas 
were  distinctly  vulgar.  Come,  my  dear!"  he  said, 


MBS.  THRALE  GOES  OUT  TO  SEA    345 

putting  out  his  arm  as  if  to  place  it  about  her 
waist.  ' '  Come,  let  me  carry  you  out  to  the  boat. ' ' 

The  words  were  a  new  blow  to  the  baffled  heart 
of  the  man  who,  as  if  driven  from  her  presence, 
turned  and  stood  with  averted  eyes.  He  took  a 
few  steps  along  the  beach  and  gathered  up  a  roll  of 
blankets.  He  could  not  bear  to  see  Walden  lay 
hands  upon  her.  He  stared  at  the  abandoned  camp 
and  shut  his  teeth  tightly  while  he  thought  of  what 
had  happened  there  in  the  moonlight  only  the  night 
before.  Ah,  to  have  loved  so  much  and  to  have  had 
so  much  to  renounce! 

Lady  Walden! 

"Do  you  hear,  Hazel?"  the  brusque  voice  of  Sir 
Charles  demanded.  "Can't  yon  stop  mooning  over 
that  wretched  old.  camp?  You  ought  to  be  glad 
to  get  away  from  it.  Come,  come !  I'm  waiting  to 
carry  you  out  to  the  boat!" 

"One  moment!" 

Tevis  heard  a  light  footfall  behind  him.  He 
turned  swiftly  and  there  was  the  glorious  girl 
springing  toward  him.  His  heart  leaped  to  the 
pulse  of  love  throbbing  so  wildly  in  her  quick,  ani- 
mate being  and  flaming  from  her  eyes.  Surprised 
by  the  suddenness  and  dazed  by  the  unreality  of 
her  unexpected  act,  he  looked  at  her  uncertainly, 
incredulously. 

"Hazel!"  he  breathed  forth  in  gasping  tones, 
"you  have  come  to  me!" 

"What's  this?"  demanded  the  astounded  Wal- 
den. '  *  Come  back  here  at  once,  Hazel !  He 's  not 


346  THE    SEA    HAWK 

going  to  carry  you  aboard.  I'm  the  one  to  do 
that." 

"No!"  she  cried  back  to  the  scowling  man. 
"Here  is  the  one  who  shall  carry  me!"  She 
turned  to  Tevis  and  stood  so  closely  to  him  that 
he  felt  her  warm  breath  upon  his  cheek. 

His  heart  swelled  in  a  high  and  heavenly  joy- 
ance  and  his  glad  arms  closed  tightly  about  her. 

1 1  Between  him  and  you, ' '  she  cried,  looking  dis- 
dainfully back  at  Sir  Charles,  who  still  stared  at 
them  with  unbelieving  eyes,  "I  choose  here  and 
now ;  and  if  you  have  the  least  ray  of  discernment 
in  your  self -loving  heart,  you  will  know  the  reason 
why." 

The  bosom  of  her  proud  lover  heaved  exultantly, 
he  lifted  her  up  in  his  triumphant  arms  and  waded 
out  through  the  shallows  while  the  low  waves 
swashed  gayly  about  them. 

"Dearest,"  he  whispered — "my  own,  all  my 
own!  la  it  true?" 

"Yes,  Edwin,"  she  said;  "it's  true,  very  true. 
But  don't  drop  me!" 

The  bottom  was  a  little  rough  and  he  had  made 
a  false  step.  As  he  caught  himself,  hugging  her 
the  tighter,  he  said  reassuringly: 

1  i  Never  fear !    You  are  too  precious  for  thai: ! ' ' 

He  lifted  her  higher  in  his  strong  arms  and 
splashed  joyously  through  the  water  to  the  boat, 
the  adorable  girl  clinging  to  him  closely  all  the 
way. 


CHAPTER   XXVIII 

AMID  THE  ORANGE  GROVES 

FROM  gray  little  Guaymas,  with  its  grilling  heat, 
its  low-roofed  adobes,  its  mantilla-hooded  girls, 
and  its  bare-legged  ninos,  to  San  Diego,  with  its 
orange  orchards,  its  trolley  cars  and  its  air  of 
fresh  modernity,  was  a  Pullman-car  flight  of  two 
days,  and  when  Tevis  and  Hazel  arrived  in  the 
Californian  town  there  was  with  them  none  of 
those  who  had  left  the  harbor  in  the  Thetis  four 
months  before. 

At  Benson  Sir  Charles  Walden  had  taken  the 
Santa  Fe  train  for  New  York,  bound  for  London 
and  "real  life,"  which  was  something  one  couldn't 
find  anywhere  in  America,  you  know.  On  the  jour- 
ney up  through  Sonora  he  had  barely  spoken  to 
the  -lovers,  though  neither  of  them  had  been  un- 
gracious to  him.  He  had  spent  most  of  his  time 
reading  the  English  papers  he  borrowed  from  a 
fellow-Briton  on  the  train. 

At  Colton  they  lost  MacLaren  and  Yokio,  who 
were  bound  for  San  Francisco,  each  with  his  share 
of  the  treasure. 

"God  bless  ye  baith,"  said  the  ardent  Scotch- 

347 


348  THE    SEA    HAWK 

man  at  parting,  "and  I'd  like  nothing  better  than 
to  dance  at  your  wedding.  The  lass  was  made  for 
ye,  Tevis.  Bonny  and  gentle  she  is,  with  a  heart  as 
soft  as  her  cheek — and  I  know  ye '11  always  be 
happy  thegither.  Good-bye!" 

"Good-bye!"  said  Yokio.  "You  going  live  in 
South  California,  then  I  coming  back  and  maybe 
you  like  Japanese  boy  wait  on  table.  So!  Then 
you  be  writing  when  you  wanting  me  come. ' '  And 
he  scrawled  an  address  on  a  scrap  of  paper. 

"Ah,"  said  Hazel  when  they  were  left  alone  on 
the  train,  "it  is  good  to  have  known  those  people, 
and  to  have  sailed  with  them.  Please  pull  down 
that  blind,  dear,  the  sun  is  so  fierce." 

"And  is  it  good  to  have  had  all  those  adven- 
tures f "  he  asked,  pulling  down  the  blind. 

"Yes,  really  and  truly,  all  except  the  killing — 
that  was  terrible.  And  to  think  that  such  things 
as  we  have  seen  are  actually  going  on  in  the  odd 
corners  of  the  world,  even  in  this  day — men  of 
•strange  races  diving  deep  into  the  sea  for  treasure, 
fighting  over  their  spoils  and  sailing  away  with 
them,  full  of  triumph !  Yes,  it  seems  good  to  have 
experienced  those  bits  of  brisk  living — to  have 
camped  on  desert  islands,  to  have  felt  the  thrill 
of  the  chase,  to  have  seen  the  rush  of  the  combat, 
the  fierce  struggle,  the  gathering  in  of  the  spoils. 
It  gets  into  one's  blood  wonderfully,  makes  one 
know  that  one  is  descended  from  primal  man  and 
that  the  dream  of  the  world's  romance  is  not  over 
in  this  day  of  electricity — even  if  one  carries  away 


AMID  THE  ORANGE  GROVES        349 

one's  loot  in  a  suit  case  in  a  Pullman  car."  And 
she  glanced  smilingly  down  at  the  bag  at  her  feet. 

"I'm  afraid  you're  a  romantic  enthusiast/'  said 
he,  wonderfully  proud  of  her  very  human  senti- 
ment. 

They  laughed  together.  In  fact,  it  was  easy  to 
laugh  on  this  pleasant  rail  journey,  now  that  they 
were  rid  of  Sir  Charles  and  his  criticisms  of  every- 
thing. 

But  when  they  were  told  at  San  Diego  that, 
although  Mrs.  Poindexter  and  a  number  of  others 
had  gotten  safely  ashore  in  the  storm,  neither  Mr. 
Braisted  nor  Captain  Dumble  had  ever  reached 
port  after  the  "burning"  of  the  Thetis,  and  that 
the  boat  in  which  they  had  set  out  from  the  yacht 
had  drifted  in  bottom  up,  Hazel  was  full  of  grief. 
Her  worst  fears  for  her  father  had  proved  true. 
For  a  time  she  was  not  to  be  comforted.  The  news 
which  came  afterward  of  the  loss  of  the  Braisted 
millions  did  not  trouble  her  greatly;  but  it  ex- 
plained many  things  and  made  her  sorrow  on  her 
father's  account  the  deeper,  for  she  now  realized 
for  the  first  time  what  he  had  experienced  of 
harassing  care  and  of  stressful  strain. 

Tevis  was  not  surprised  to  learn  that  the  under- 
writers had  made  no  settlement  of  the  yacht's 
insurance  with  the  distant  heirs  who  had  come  for- 
ward and  set  up  their  claim.  The  payment  had 
been  deferred  because  of  some  obscure  intimations 
that  had  been  let  fall  by  sailors  who  had  gone 
ashore  from  the  Thetis  on  the  fatal  night  of  th'e 


350  THE     SEA    HAWK 

drowning  of  Braisted  and  Dumble,  and  also  be- 
cause of  the  conflicting  claims  of  the  dead  finan- 
cier's creditors.  Tevis  and  Hazel  concluded  they 
would  wait  until  they  were  married  before  urging 
a  new  claim  for  insurance  based  upon  the  actual 
loss  of  the  yacht  on  the  shores  of  Tiburon  Island. 

Hazel  went  to  New  York  for  a  few  months  on  a 
visit  to  Mrs.  Poindexter,  leaving  her  pearls  with 
Tevis,  who  sold  them  in  San  Francisco  for  the 
handy  sum  of  $85,000. 

"We  must  live  in  California,"  she  wrote  in  her 
first  letter.  "I  want  to  build  one  of  those  quaint 
Mission  houses  in  the  true  old  hacienda  style, 
among  the  orange  trees,  and  have  a  pretty  open 
patio  with  no  end  of  tropical  plants  in  it  and  a 
little  fountain.  The  house  must  be  lined  wifh 
books  and  Navajo  blankets  and  soft  Mexican 
serapes  and  we  must  have  a  great  open  fireplace, 
where  we  can  sit  of  evenings  and  talk,  talk,  talk, 
and  live  our  adventures  over  again.  And  I  want 
Yokio  to  wait  on  table." 

He  sent  her  a  plan  for  the  house  of  which  she 
approved  and  he  sat  to  work  immediately  to  build 
it  in  the  middle  of  a  Pasadena  orange  grove. 

When  she  came  out  from  the  East  and  he  showed 
her  the  house  she  was  rapturously  pleased  with  it. 

"And  the  orange  trees,"  she  said,  going  outside 
and  looking  about  amid  the  glistening  foliage, 
"aren't  they  sweet?  Isn't  it  strange  how.  they 
bloom  and  bear  fruit  at  the  same  time?" 

"Yes,"  he  said,  "and  it's  quite  fitting  that  a 


AMID  THE  ORANGE  GROVES        351 

romance  such  as  ours  should  finish  with  plenty  of 
orange  blossoms. " 

"Finish?''  she  said,  smiling  in  her  old  radiant 
way. 

"No,  not  finish,"  he  corrected,  "I  mean  begin, 
of  course." 

After  the  wedding,  which  followed  in  a  few  days, 
they  went  to  live  in  the  new  house  among  the 
orange  trees.  The  honeymoon  was  spent  there,  the 
only  thing  that  presented  itself  as  a  diverting  cir- 
cumstance being  Tevis'  hour-a-day  superinten- 
dence of  the  construction  of  a  little  electrical  lab- 
oratory down  in  an  arroyo  at  the  rear  of  their 
grounds,  screened  by  shaggy  encalytus  trees. 
Here  he  planned  to  work  out  his  invention  in  that 
ample  leisure  which  he  now  felt  he  could  well 
afford. 

He  had  a  long,  hard  fight  with  the  underwriters, 
who  were  much  concerned  at  first  over  the  strange- 
ly mixed  stories  of  the  loss  of  the  Thetis;  but  when 
it  was  finally  established  that  the  vessel  was 
wrecked  and  not  burned,  they  settled  in  full  the 
claim  for  $250,000.  Though  the  amount  was  paid 
unwillingly,  the  claim  has  always  seemed  a  fair 
one  to  Tevis,  as  the  yacht  was  not  lost  by  intent 
or  through  any  fault  of  the  owner,  who  was  aboard 
of  her  at  the  time  of  the  disaster.  Beside  there 
was  nothing  in  the  policy  to  release  the  company, 
as  there  was  no  clause  providing  against  the 
peculiar  manner  in  which  she  was  lost. 

There  was  no  doubt  in  Hazel's  mind  nor  in  her 


352  THE     SEA    HAWK 

husband's  as  to  whom  the  insurance  money  be- 
longed, as  the  transfer  of  the  yacht  to  her  had  been 
made  by  her  father  that  he  might  wrest  that  much 
out  of  the  wreck  of  his  fortune. 

"It  shall  all  go  to  the  creditors,"  she  declared 
when  she  received  her  draft.  "It  belongs  to  them, 
and  we  have  plenty  without  it." 

Some  of  the  Braisted  securities  turned  out  bet- 
ter than  was  expected,  and  the  addition  of  the 
quarter-million  insurance  money  helped  to  make 
up  the  deficit  in  such  a  way  that  the  loss  to  the 
creditors  amounted  to  little  after  all.  But  nothing 
remained  to  Hazel  out  of  her  father's  estate.  What 
she  now  had  was  wholly  the  result  of  her  sea  ad- 
venture. And  as  she  sat  with  her  husband  in  tEe 
patio,  looking  out  where  the  fountain  was  playing 
and  the  leaves  were  glistening,  and  Yokio  flitted 
about  in  his  white  apron,  she  insisted  that  the  pro- 
ceeds from  the  pearls  had  always  been  more  his 
than  hers. 

"My  part  in  the  affair  was  only  passive,"  she 
said,  "while  yours  was  active." 

"But,"  he  protested,  "I  distinctly  remember 
seeing  the  figure  of  a  very  white-faced  young 
woman  behind  a  barricade,  showering  buckshot 
among  the  invading  hatchetmen." 

"And  shutting  her  eyes  every  time  she  pulled 
the  trigger,"  she  said  laughing.  "If  any  of  the 
poor  Chinamen  were  struck  by  my  shot  it  was  the 
purest  accident.  And  just  when  they  were  getting 
close  to  us  and  I  couldn't  have  failed  to  hit  one  or 


AMID  THE  ORANGE  GEOVES        353 

two  and  establish  my  reputation  as  some  sort  of  a 
heroine,  you  bundled  me  away  and  locked  me  up 
with  Mrs.  Thrale.  That  strange  old  creature! 
She  was  not  so  hard  and  grasping  after  all.  She 
had  a  sense  of  justice." 

"Yes — her  kind  of  justice,"  he  acknowledged. 

"Oh,  you  needn't  breathe  a  word  against  Mrs. 
Thrale, ' '  said  Hazel.  i  i  She  was  constantly  sound- 
ing your  praises  to  me.  She  was  quite  a  match- 
maker in  her  funny  old  way.  And  after  you 
brought  my  clothes  to  me  that  time  in  the  pilot 
house,  she  said " 

"She  said!" 

"No,"  said  the  happy  wife,  blushing  adorably. 
"  I'll  not  tell  you  what  she  said.  Yokio  is  too  near. 
Poor  Mrs.  Thrale.  I  wonder  if  she  sleeps  as  calm- 
ly down  there  in  the  Gulf  as  though  she  rested 
where  the  hickory  nuts  might  fall  upon  her  grave. 
Do  you  remember  that  night  when  we  took  turns 
watching  by  her  couch  on  the  island  ? ' ' 

"Yes,"  he  said,  looking  into  her  splendid  youth- 
ful eyes  in  which  a  mysterious  light  was  playing. 
"Of  course  I  remember  it.  Something  happened 
that  night  that  I  can  never  forget." 

"I  know  what  you  mean,"  she  said,  her  smile 
deepening. 

"No,  you  don't,  dear."  He  came  over  close  to 
her  and  sat  on  the  flat  arm  of  the  big  porch  chair 
in  which  she  snuggled  lazily.  "That  night — I 
must  confess  it  before  we  go  any  further — that 
night  I  kissed  you  while  you  were  asleep.  It  was 


354  THE    SEA    HAWK 

taking  a  mean  advantage,  but  I  couldn't  help  it — 
it  was  a  wild  impulse — and — you  didn't  know." 

Her  smile  spread  itself  over  her  lustrous,  happy 
face,  and  she  broke  out  laughing.  He  caught  her 
tell-tale  eye. 

"You  didn't  know?"  he  cried.  "You  weren't 
awake?  Were  you — really?" 

"Yes,"  she  laughed;  "I  was  awake  all  the  time 
and  terribly  frightened,  too.  Weren't  you  just 
too  dreadful?" 

"And  you  were  awake — and  knew?  What  did 
you  think  of  me?" 

"Oh,  I  thought  you  were  the  boldest,  baddest 
man  I  had  ever  heard  of ! "  she  declared. 

"Well,  I'm  glad  I  was  so  bold  and  bad.  But 
mustn  't  I  settle  accounts  now  for  my  horrible  con- 
duct! Yokio  isn't  looking." 

He  bent  low  over  her  and  kissed  her  just  as  he 
had  kissed  her  that  night  in  the  moonlight,  only 
that  when  his  lips  touched  hers  there  was  a  warm 
response,  and  she  looked  up  at  him  with  joyful, 
lovelit  eyes. 

"Why  didn't  you  make  this  kind  of  a  reply 
then?"  he  asked  smiling. 

"Isn't  that  just  like  a  man?"  she  said,  pouting 
prettily.  "What  would  you  have  thought  of  me? 
How  should  I  have  dared?  Wouldn't  it  have  been 
ever  and  ever  so  unmaidenly?" 

"But  on  my  part  wasn't  it  ever  and  ever  so 
ungentlemanly  ? ' ' 

"Oh,  yes;  but  that's  different." 


AMID  THE  ORANGE  GROVES        355 

"To  be  sure  it's  very  different.  Come!"  He 
laid  Ms  hand  on  her  arm.  "Let's  go  for  a  walk 
and  pick  some  oranges.  Never  mind  your  hat." 

She  rose  from  her  chair,  put  her  bare  arm  in 
his  white- jacketed  one  and  they  walked  from  the 
patio  out  through  a  side  door  and  down  the  long, 
cool  pathway  among  the  dark-leaved  orange  trees. 


THE  END 


c  2  39*3 


